Essence Reawakened
by Gypsy Druid
Summary: The ensouling spell fails. Buffy manages to close Acathla, but not before she’s pulled in with Angelus. How high a price is she willing to pay, not only to survive, but to get back home.
1. Prologue

Essence Reawakened

By: GypsyDruid & IceFlame55

Disclaimers:

I own nothing and no one. Therefore, no profit has been or will ever be made from this story. 'Nuff said.

Spoilers: None. Veers away from canon at Becoming Part 2

Rated: **NC-17**

Pairings: Multiple Pairings, Pairings w/ Multiple Partners

Anything I've missed (disclaimer related) I can't think of it at the moment, but it still applies.

**A/N:** Speech patterns 'mental speech'(italics), thoughts (italics w/o ' '), 'Lillith speaking' (bold)

Summary: The ensouling spell fails. Buffy manages to close Acathla, but not before she's pulled in with Angelus. How high a price is she willing to pay, not only to survive, but to get back home.

Prologue

Angel's eyes flashed as his soul flooded him once again. Angelus fought it with all of his strength.

"God, damn it, NO!" He growled. "I won't be trapped again!"

Buffy watched in shock, her sword still poised at his neck. _Willow tried the curse_, she realized, then realized something else. _Xander lied to me._ _He had to have known._ She couldn't believe that Xander would lie about something like this. Behind him, she could see the statue's mouth open further and the portal form.

"NO!!" He screamed, and his eyes flashed again as he managed to resist the spell. His vamped out momentarily, then used her distraction to shove the sword away and scoop up his own. She reacted swiftly, however, going with the motion and before he could do anything else, she thrust her sword deep into his chest. He gasped in surprise, then flashed her a cruel grin, only for it to fall away in shock when tendrils of the portal began to wrap around him. Belatedly, he realized that she was using him to close the portal he had taken great pains to open. He felt it dragging him in, and decided that he wasn't going alone. Before Buffy could release the sword, his hand closed over hers, and held on tight, dragging her along with him.

"If I'm going, baby, then so are you."

Frantically, Buffy fought to break his grip as the tendrils traveled down his arm to swirl around hers. As she struggled, the tendrils moved up her arms to cover her shoulders and, in a flash of light, she was yanked forward.

In the nearby window, a pale, horrified Xander watched as they both vanished and the statue became dormant once more.

Buffy's Slayer instincts kicked in the moment her body hit solid ground, rolling back to her feet and rising in a ready position with her sword clutched firmly in her hands. Her senses were going haywire, but thankfully some part of her remained focused on the most pertinent threat as she instinctively blocked a hard blow aimed at her head. She focused on the fight, putting aside her concerns of where she was and why her senses were wigging, and battled Angelus until the unfamiliar terrain caught up with him and he stumbled on a rock of some kind. It was the opening that Buffy needed and, darting in quickly, she sliced open the length of his arm, causing him to drop his sword before looking him dead in the eye.

"Goodbye Angel." She said softly and, with a hard upward swing, she beheaded him, turning away as his head fell from his body and both turned to dust.

She stood with her eyes closed as she waited for the ache in her heart to subside. She had done it. She had killed the love of her life. She was about to indulge in a well-deserved cry when a sound caught her ears. Opening her eyes, she finally took a good look around, and nearly choked. Everywhere she looked, there were demons. Lots and lots of demons. Deciding discretion was better part of valor, she turned and took off in the opposite direction, but didn't get far before she saw even more demons in that direction. For the next several months, she ran and fought, eating and drinking what she could find and sleeping when she could find a safe out of the way spot. During those precious moment of rest, she began to suffer from nightmares where she was all powerful and demons and humans cowered at her feet.

'_**We cannot continue this way.'**__ A voice stated._

"_Who's there?" Buffy asked. "Where is this?_

'_**I am Lillith.' **__A figure stepped from Buffy and turned to face her. It was a shadowy, indistinctive form about her size. __**'I was the one whose essence was stolen and used to create the first of your kind.'**_

"_What did you mean, we can't continue?" Buffy asked as she absorbed the impact of her revelation._

'_**You grow weary in body and mind.'**__ Lillith pointed out.__** 'You hunger and you thirst. Your human body is frail and not meant for this place, even with all of your stolen powers.'**_

"_That's not exactly something I can change." Buffy stated, too tired for false bravado or even a witty quip._

'_**Give yourself over to me.' **__Lillith said.__** 'This place has replenished my strength, which has enabled me to speak to you in this way, and you are a worthy avatar since my own body has been long destroyed.'**__ Her voice turned seductive. __**'Give yourself to me and I will strengthen your shell and fill it with power beyond their imagination.'**_

"_In return for what?" Buffy demanded. "I'm not going to just hand over my body. I'm blonde, not stupid. If I do this, you're not going to just back off when we get back home. I'm not going to let you destroy or corrupt my soul just to get home again."_

_Lillith laughed. __**'Very good, my Childe. Such wary caution is wise. I could simply take your body. I now have the power needed. Yet I suspect that you will not submit quietly, and conflict between us will get us killed. A bargain, perhaps?'**_

"_What kind of bargain?" Buffy asked suspiciously._

'_**We merge. I will strengthen your shell and give you the power to survive, but you will retain your soul. In essence, we will share this body.'**__ Lillith offered. __**'I cannot promise not to influence your decisions, because if you accept this, I will become a part of you, with as much of an opinion on your choices as your own conscience, but I will not purposely or intentionally corrupt your soul.'**_

A loud noise woke Buffy from the dream, and she had just enough time to jump to her feet and grab her sword before a large, dark red demon burst into her hiding spot. It took her almost fifteen minutes to kill the demon, where normal it would have barely taken her five. She knew that what 'Lillith' said was true. She was getting weaker. There wasn't enough food here that was edible to humans, since this wasn't a dimension meant for humans. The demons here were also stronger and faster than those back home. If she didn't do something soon, either find a way back or give in and accept Lillith's offer, she was going to die.

They bargained, in her dreams, for the conditions of their deal for several sporadic nights whenever Buffy felt safe enough to try to rest. The dreams were coming more frequently, and were really freaking her out, until Lillith told her that they were memories of her reign before her servants and slaves turned on her and her mate. Buffy realized that soon Lillith wouldn't have to bargain. If she continued to get stronger, then she might, at some point, be able to simply destroy Buffy's soul and take over completely.

"_I agree to the terms." Buffy finally said one night soon after. "Let's do this."_


	2. Chapter One

Chapter One

Buffy looked around the darkened interior of the mansion. Dust, cobwebs and stale air stated clearly that no one had been here in some time. The statue of Acathla was gone, but then, she didn't expect Giles to leave it where just any big bad could find it and try to open it again. She sighed. Her memories of her loved ones were all that had kept her sane during that time, between the battles and the nightmares and the knowledge that she was willingly merging with one of the most powerful of the Old Ones just to get home. Each days, she deliberately took the time to drag up her fading memories. Of her mother, of Willow or Giles, sometimes even Xander. Lillith really didn't like Xander. As a ruler, betrayal was not something that she tolerated, at all, and she saw his lies as a betrayal. It had taken 300 years, but Buffy finally made it back home.

_How long I've been gone._ Buffy wondered. _I wonder if they even noticed that I was gone._

'**Do you intend to inform them of our return?'** Lillith asked.

'_Willow and Giles, maybe, if they're still here.'_ Buffy answered. _'I'm not that sure that I want to see Xander, and Mom kicked me out, so I don't think she wants to see me. The first thing we need to do is find out how long it's been.'_

'**We do not plan to let the boy's betrayal go unpunished, do we?'** Lillith asked, outraged. It may have been a small betrayal, but it was a betrayal none-the-less.

Buffy didn't answer as she caught a clear glimpse of herself for the first time in three centuries. Her eyes were a bright amber color instead of the normal hazel and her pupils were slitted like a cat. With her mouth open in surprise, she could also see that her canines were sharply pointed at the top and bottom of her mouth. Her hair had long ago grown out, revealing the natural dirty blonde color that she hated, but the locks were now streaked with a deep dark red. She looked like someone had poured blood in her hair, like in the movie "Carrie".

_Wow._ Was her first thought, then, _I can't go out there like this._

'**You have my power,'** Lillith reminded her. **'You can alter your form to appear more human if that is your wish.'**

'_How?'_

'**Concentrate on the form you wish to take, then merely see yourself in that form.'**

Closing her eyes, she concentrated on what she barely remembered she looked like before she disappeared. When she finally opened her eyes, she was grateful to see hazel orbs staring back at her. Her hair was once again the blonde that she preferred, but she was stark naked. She thought hard, digging up old, forgotten memories, until she remembered that this was Angel's mansion. He had to have clothes stashed here. She thought about what she would do while she searched. She no longer remembered the layout of the house, so she didn't know where the master bedroom was. She thought about going to Giles first, but dismissed it. As much as she wanted to see him, she was not ready for the inquisition she'd get. She didn't know if he knew what had happened, but even if he didn't, he'd demand to know why she ditched her duty for three months. She'd go see Willow. She knew that Willow would have questions, but her friend would lay off if asked.

She finally found the room. Searching the drawers and closets, she dressed in the large black shirt and black trousers, the sleeves and legs rolled up many times. She had to tighten the trousers with a piece of rope that she found in another one of the drawers that was filled with what looked uncomfortably like really freaky sex toys. Slipping out into the night, she strolled sedately through her hometown. The sights and scents and sounds, even the two vampires that had just started to follow her, were the most wonderful things she could currently imagine.

"Unless you want to be screaming in agony for centuries before you're dusted, I suggest you find someone else to snack on." Buffy called out to the vamps behind her. The power in her voice was obvious and, after a slight hesitation, the fledglings turned and ran. There was obviously a new power in town.

Buffy's lip curled into a smirk as she listened to them run. Reaching into the well of power that had grown deep within her, she sent out a tendril and dusted one of the vamps mid-step, laughing in delight for the first time in longer than she could remember. She made her way automatically to Willow's house without thought once she reached the main street, absorbing the feel of the town and the essence of the Hellmouth in a way she never had before. Reaching the house, she listened carefully for who was inside.

"Ahh, she's alone." Buffy mused.f

She knocked on the door. She heard her friend come down the stairs slowly. Her senses tracked the progress to the door, and she smiled nervously when she assumed that Willow was looking through the peephole. Obviously, she was, because the door swung open and the next thing she knew, her arms were full of her babbling best friend.

"OhmyGodBuffyit'sreallyyouwherehaveyoubeenareyouokayohmyGod."

Buffy put her hand gently over her mouth to quiet her as she cleared her throat. "Yeah, Willow, it's really me." Her voice sounded strange to her ears, and it took her a moment to realize that the strangeness of her vision was because of the tears in her eyes.

Willow hugged her fiercely, almost afraid to let go. She had been so worried about her friend. When Xander had come back and told them that she had vanished into the portal along with Angelus, they had been devastated. They didn't know of she had survived the trip through the portal and, even if she did, Giles had said that the chances that she would survive whatever hell dimension the portal had sent them to was negligible.

"How?" Willow finally asked.

"Not yet, Willow, please." Buffy whispered. "Soon, but just, not yet. How long?"

"Almost three months." Willow answered, taking a good look at her friend. Buffy's eyes looked so tired that Willow's heart clenched. She nodded and pulled her into the house. "Have you been home yet?"

"Mom kicked me out right before I went to fight Angelus." Buffy told her. "She told me not to come back."

"She didn't mean it, Buffy." Willow assured her. "She told me so. She came here looking for you the next day after school, hoping that you were staying with me. She told me what happened, and how she freaked out. She almost collapsed completely when we told her what happened. She's been helping out, with research and such, and using her connections to get us better weapons and such. She'll be so glad to see you! And so will Giles and, and Xander!"

At the betrayer's name, Lillith's anger flared enough to cause Buffy to growl involuntarily. Willow's jerked back, startled, and squeaked in surprise at the amber gaze glaring back at her. Buffy closed her eyes and shook her head and, when she opened them again, they were normal once more. "Buffy?"

"I'm sorry, Willow." She said. "I'll explain everything tomorrow, I promise. Now, I just want to get a full night's sleep while I know it's safe."

Willow cocked her head at the odd phrase. Safe? In Sunnydale?

"Sure, Buffy." Willow finally said. "Tomorrow."

'**You know that she's a virgin, yes?'** Buffy heard Lillith in her head. **'And a fledgling mage with untapped depths of power. She would be a tasty and filling treat.'**

"_No!"_ Buffy nixed the thought immediately. _"I understand that we need to feed off of power, but there is more than enough here. We will never use anyone that we love, especially Willow!"_

'**Be calm.'** Lillith chuckled. **'It was just a suggestion.'**


	3. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

When Willow woke up the next morning, she found Buffy sitting out on her back porch. Studying her for a moment, she watched curiously as Buffy's head twitched from side to side, zeroing in on random sounds and movements. She even looked down at the ground, and Willow couldn't help but wonder what has traveling beneath them.

Buffy knew that Willow was behind her. She could feel the presence of every thing, living or not, for several miles in every direction. She had tried to sleep, but woke up after only a few hours out of long habit, even though she knew that she had nothing to fear here. The half-breed demons here were weaklings compared to what she had faced for the last 300 years. Even their strongest could not stand up to her and win.

"Do you want to go to the Espresso Pump to talk, or go straight to Giles'?" Willow finally asked. "It's a good thing that it's the weekend, cause I can't imagine the stir it would cause if you suddenly popped up in school. I still need to tell you about the new Slayer that arrived while you were gone."

"New Slayer?" Buffy asked as Willow looped arms with her and they started off down the quiet street. "The one after Kendra? Is she any good?"

"She's a little on the wild side." Willow finally said after a moment's hesitation. "I like her, but she makes me uncomfortable sometimes."

"What's been going on here?" Buffy asked.

"Nothing much." Willow admitted. "According to Giles, for some reason, the demons don't do much during the summer season, so it's been relatively quiet. The new Slayer isn't Council trained either, so she doesn't have any problems with us helping. Faith just showed up last month, and when we realized that she was living in that ratty motel at the edge of town, your Mom demanded that she stay with her. She told Giles that it was the least that she could do after screwing up with you so bad."

"That's good." Buffy said. "I was worried about her." Buffy searched her memory, more of it becoming clearer without the stresses of constant battle and worry about surviving day to day. "She was drinking when I left."

"Are you going back home?"

Buffy shook her head. "That wouldn't be wise. I've gone through a few changes that have me...unable to fit in with normal humans anymore."

Willow looked at her quietly for a moment. "The talk?"

"Yeah," Buffy nodded. "it's time." They had reached the point where they could either keep going on to the coffee shop, or turn off the street and go to Giles' apartment. "Let's go to Giles', so I only have to do this once. Can you call my mom and have her come over and bring the new Slayer?"

"Sure." Willow said, pulling out her phone. Then she hesitated, remembering Buffy's reaction from last night. "Should I call Xander, too?"

Buffy managed to keep Lillith's response internal, and just shook her head. "No, I can't see him right now. I'm not quite settled just yet. I promise that I'll explain."

"Okay." Willow said slowly. "Okay, maybe next time."

'**Yeah, maybe 'next time' we'll get to flay him alive.'** Lillith fumed.

Buffy didn't respond to either of them as she followed quietly when Willow turned them down the street and headed toward her former Watcher's home. He had been the closest thing to a father figure that she'd had in the last few years, and she had really missed him. Walking up the few steps, she took a deep breath and, with Willow's hand rubbing comforting circles in her back, she knocked.

"One moment." After a few minutes, the door swung open. "You're early, Faith. You can begin..." He paused as he finally turned to the door and saw who was there. "Oh, dear Lord, B-Buffy?"

The next thing Buffy knew, she was swept up in a fierce hug as his usual British reserve deserted him at the sight of the young girl he had come to care for like one of his own.

Buffy suffered the hug stiffly, no longer accustomed to physical touch. Of course, Lillith chose to make a comment. '**We have no problem with the young mage's touch, now do we?'**

Buffy ignored her, even though she knew that Lillith was using the opportunity to absorb some of the latent power in her former mentor. He had so much built up in his body that Buffy wondered how he was siphoning it off without them noticing.

"Where have you been?" He asked, finally releasing her. "I've been searching for you for months."

Willow was surprised. He hadn't told them that he had been looking for her.

"I'll tell everything, but I want to wait for my mom and the new Slayer." Buffy told him. "Willow called to have them come here."

"That's fine." Giles ushered them in. "Would anyone like some tea?"

"Just water, please." Buffy said. Over the centuries, she had spent more time merged with Lillith, and her body had not been nourished by human food for longer than she could remember.

Willow and Giles continued to fill Buffy in Sunnydale life for the past months until the others arrived. Giles let them in and turned to inquire about Xander when Willow caught his eye and shook her head. Confused, he never-the-less let it go in light of more important things.

"Oh, my God, BUFFY!" Joyce practically screamed as she tore across the room, her arms going around the slight form of her child without question or concern. Pulling back slightly, she looked her over. "Are you okay? Where have you been? Oh, God, baby-girl, I'm so sorry. Can you ever forgive me?"

"Yo, G, what's goin' on?" Faith asked warily. Her senses were screaming at her from the short blonde that was the center of attention. It wasn't like the demons or anything, well, not _just_ the demon sense, but it was more like this chick was, was, _something_. "Who's blondie?"

"That, my dear girl, is Buffy Summers." Giles told her proudly. "She was the Slayer before you."

Faith studied the cute blonde. She had heard a lot about her from her first Watcher and from her new friends here in Sunnydale. When Faith commented on how different Giles was from other Watchers, and they had told her that Buffy had forced most of the stuffiness out of him, and even offered to help her like they had helped her predecessor.

"So that's B, huh?" Faith murmured. "Where's she been?"

"We're not sure yet." Giles admitted. "She wanted to wait for you and Joyce."

"Hi, Mom." Buffy said softly. "How have you been?"

"I'm been okay, but I'm much better right now." Joyce hugged her again. "I've been so worried about you. Can you tell me where you've been? Willow told me that you just disappeared during the fight with...Angel, or was his name Angelus?"

Buffy nodded, smiling softly at the confusion on her mother's face regarding the two names. Giles and Faith settled down as she began her story. "Xander caught me outside the mansion and told me that Willow said to kick his ass..."

"Hey!" Willow exclaimed. Suddenly, she understood Buffy's sudden animosity towards their other best friend. "That's not what I said!"

"I know, Wills." Buffy assured her. "I know you tried the spell. It happened during the fight, but he fought it off. By then, the portal was opening. I managed to stab in him in the chest, but he grabbed my wrists and held on until the portal pulled us both in. We were sent to some hell dimension, and we kept fighting until I beheaded him. The next thing I knew, demons were coming at me from every direction. I ran and I fought. I could barely find anything that I could eat or drink cause, hello, hell dimension. Not really meant for humans."

Giles asked the question that was weighing on his mind. "Buffy, I know that time moves differently between dimensions. Exactly how long were you there?"

Buffy sighed. "A really long time. Like I said, hell dimensions aren't made for humans. There was almost no food or water and every time I turned around, I was fighting. I slept when I could, and always with one eye open. I've even got a few new scars. It wasn't long before everything started catching up with me. I was getting weaker from lack of food, water and sleep, and I knew it, but there was no place safe for me to recover."

"How did you survive?" Willow and Faith asked at the same time.

"Something else happened to me. It seemed that the hell dimension strengthens demons, even if it's just the essence of them." Buffy could see dawning comprehension in her former Watcher's face. "It strengthened the essence of the demon in me that makes me a Slayer. It told me that we had to merge if we were going to survive."

'**It?!' Lillith exclaimed indignantly. 'I am **_**not**_ **an it!'**

'_Not now, Lillith.'_ Buffy told her. '_If I tell them that your an Old One, the first thing they're gonna do is try to find a way to separate us. Do you really want that?'_

"I refused at first, but it was getting stronger, and I knew that sooner or later, it would be strong enough to kill my soul and take my body, so we made a bargain. We would merge, but I would keep my soul and everything that makes me, me." She didn't tell them that they also agreed that Lillith could take control if she felt that a situation needed her 'personal' touch. "After that, we just had to keep on fighting until we could find a way back."

"Is that why your eyes changed?" Willow asked.

Buffy very nearly flinched at the question, knowing that it would generate a whole lot of questions she hadn't wanted to get into just yet. "Yeah, Willow, that's why. It was reacting to Xander. When we merged, we kinda shared memories and such, and it sees Xander's lie as a betrayal. It has very definite views on betrayal."

"You have a v-v-vampire inside of you?" Joyce asked nervously.

"No, Mom, not a vampire." Buffy quickly reassured her. "I promise. I would never put any of you in danger like that, and Faith would have know immediately if it was, right, Faith?

"She's right, Mrs. S." Faith said. "I'm not sure what I'm sensin', but it ain't a threat. At least, not to us."

"You say that the essence regained sentience." Giles interjected. "Did it regain any of its original abilities as well?"

Buffy hesitated, wondering if he knew just what he was asking. "I'm not sure what you mean, Giles." She lied. "All I know is that the merging made me stronger and kept me alive when I would have died otherwise."

"Well, as long as it isn't dangerous, I don't care what it was." Joyce said firmly, hugging Buffy again. "It brought you back to, safe and sound, and right now, that's all that matters."

Even though he stopped asking questions, Buffy knew that her former Watcher was still thinking about them. The Watchers would have known that a pure demon was used to create Slayers, even if they didn't know that it was an Old One, and pure demons always had powers of some sort. According to Lillith, the Shadowmen hadn't known who she was when they found her. She preferred to rule from behind her mate, rather than beside her, even though she had been the more powerful of them. They had only known that she was extremely powerful, but weak enough to be used in their ritual.

"So, B, I gotta ask," Faith began. "You here to take your spot back?"

Buffy studied her replacement carefully. She was aware that Lillith was studying her as well. She could sense the wildness that Willow spoke of, and could vaguely feel the pain and anger buried beneath it.

'**I like her.'** Lillith said.

Buffy smiled in response and answered the brunette's question. "No, I'm not. I'll help out if and when you need it, but Sunnydale is yours to guard now."

"What are you going to do?" Willow piped in. "Go back to school? Giles got Snyder to dismiss your expulsion."

"No, Will, not that either." Buffy held up her hand when Willow and her mother began to argue. "I am part demon now, and there is no way I can be comfortable being that close to the Hellmouth. I have no desire to open it or anything, but even now, I can feel it trying to get under my skin."

"Well, let's get you home." Joyce said, smiling. "We'll get some food in you and you can sleep in your own bed."

"I don't think that would be a good idea, Mom."

"I don't understand." Joyce said. "Why not?"

"It would be too dangerous." Buffy told her. "Sooner or later, one of the demons will sense that I am more like them now. They will either try to kill me or convert me to their side, and if I'm at home with you, that will put you in more danger. Combined with the fact that a Slayer lives there, it would be more than likely that they will try to kill me to keep us from teaming up. With Faith at the house, you'll still have protection, but I intend to make it known that to touch any of you will gain them a slow and extremely painful death. This isn't like when I was just a Slayer, Mom, and I'm not going to bring the danger right to your doorstep."

"Unfortunately, she is correct." Giles added. "When word gets out that Buffy has returned as part demon, more than just other demons will come after her. I suspect that the Watcher's Council will want Faith here to eliminate Buffy as well. They will not see it as doing what was necessary to survive. They will see it as a betrayal of her duty. In their eyes, she should have died rather than making a deal with a demon, without considering that, in the end, she made the best choice possible."

"What do you mean, Giles?" Willow asked.

"Think about it, Willow. The demon that was used to create the Slayer was a pure demon, much more powerful than the ones walking the Earth today. Can you imagine what that would have been like if it had simply taken Buffy's body. It would have absorbed everything that she is, including her knowledge. We don't know exactly what demon was used, but what if it had been one that was not very powerful compared to others. Knowledge is just as deadly as power. Intimate knowledge of the human race, mind and body, would be deadly in the hands of a pure demon. Especially one that had been killed by humans and it's essence stolen. Either way, it will be more powerful than any demon we have encountered thus far. At least this way, we are dealing more with Buffy than with the demon inside of her."

'**If only he knew.'** Lillith smirked inside Buffy's head.


	4. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

"Have you found her yet, Trick?"

"We have." The dark-skinned vampire answered. "She moved to the Hellmouth."

"Perfect. We will take care of both at the same time. We will use her blood to open the Seal."

"Of course, Kakistos." Trick said smoothly. "Shall I arrange for the car?"

"Yes, we will leave tomorrow night after we have gathered supplies. Send your boys over to the orphanage as planned. That should tide us over nicely."

The vampire nodded towards his men, sending them off to their task. Idly, he wondered why Kakistos was so obsessed with this girl. Its not like she was all that special. Just another Slayer in a long line of the irritating little girls. He had not yet been employed by the cloven-hoofed Master when Kakistos had first tried to kill Faith, but he had heard that the girl had managed to seriously wound him after he had killed her Watcher. He, however, always tried to be somewhere else when a Slayer was in the area. This time, however, he figured he'd stick around to see how it played out. If Kakistos managed to kill the Slayer and open the Hellmouth, there might be some profit in being there. Nevertheless, he planned to have escape routes already in place if the Slayer managed to kill his boss instead.

_Well, I'll find out soon enough,_ he thought to himself, _but right now I've got to go pick up my suits from the cleaners._

- - - BtVS - - AU - - BtVS - - -

Buffy stood motionless against the doorframe as she divided her attention between watching the technicians install her new security system and listening to Lillith explain to her what she needed to do ward her new home against intruders of the more demonic kind.

'_That will keep all the baddies out?'_ Buffy asked her.

'**Not only keep them out, but actively warn them away.' **Lillith answered. '**At least, until enough of our essence seeps into the place that the warding is not necessary. After that happens, they will shy away simply because we are a bigger, stronger predator. Once we have regained full strength, we will be able to mark your loved ones as ours, so that others will know that to touch them means death. Even the darkness inside your humans will be able to sense the mark.'**

Buffy liked that idea. The safety of her mother and her friends, even Giles, had always been one of her biggest concerns. Even after she'd gotten dragged into the hell dimension, she'd worried.

'**Speaking of regaining our strength,'** Lillith interrupted her thoughts. '**We need to feed soon.'**

'_Any ideas?'_

'**Oh, yes...'** Lillith began silkily, but was quickly interrupted.

'_Any ideas that aren't Willow?'_ Buffy's lips curled into a small smile without her even realizing it.

'**Do you feel the surging magickal energy to the west?'**

Buffy glanced over her shoulder in that direction. '_Yeah. I've felt it before, but I could never find what was causing it, and it always seemed in bounce on and off of my radar, and almost always in a different location. Now, I can find it easily.'_

'**It is widely varied, unstable and very chaotic. That much supernatural energy would go a long way towards rebuilding our power reserves.'**

'_Sounds good. We'll go later tonight.'_ Buffy turned as she heard familiar footfalls behind her. A moment later, Willow walked into view almost a yard away, her head down, obviously going through something in her head.

'**You know, she really is good looking, for a human.'** Lillith smirked to her host.

Buffy had always thought that Willow was beautiful. From the first day they'd met, Buffy had always seen past the horrible clothes and the terrible, almost painful, shyness. It was only when she had used the thoughts and memories of her family and friends that she'd finally acknowledged, to herself at least, the crush that she'd always had on the redhead. She had loved Angel with every part of her being, but a part of her heart had always belonged to Willow. With a small sigh, she waited patiently until the redhead looked up and noticed that she was being watched. With a smile and a wave, she picked up her pace and trotted over to stand next to her.

"Hi, Buffy!" She said brightly.

"Hey, Wills, what's up?" Buffy smiled back.

"I just thought I'd come over to see how you've been." Willow said. "We haven't seen you in a few days."

"I've been settling myself." Buffy told her. "I've been fighting for so long, it's taken a while to learn to relax. I took a walk around town, getting a sense of what was here, where they were, and how much trouble they could be."

"Well, your mom cooks for the whole group every Sunday, and we were wondering if you'd come." Willow grinned engagingly. "I know that you said you don't eat food much anymore, so just what do you eat? Is it because of the demon that's inside of you? Do you know what kind of demon it is?"

Buffy listened to her friend ramble off several more questions, waiting for her to take a breath before starting to answer. They continued along that line, Buffy answering every question that Willow came up with as honestly as she could, except for identifying the type of demon that she now hosted, trusting that the information wouldn't go further than she wanted it to, namely back to Giles, until the security technicians finally finished. She paid them and watched until they were out of sight, then led Willow inside and gave her the grand tour of the newly refurbished mansion.

"What do you think?" She asked when they finished the tour and ended up in the den.

"This looks great," Willow exclaimed. "but I noticed that the kitchen is empty."

"You and Mom can fill it with whatever you want." Buffy chuckled. "Even if I did still need food, I never could cook, so you'll be using it more than I would."

"Maybe we can have this weekend's dinner here, then." Willow's face turned serious. "I walked to Xander, and told him that you were back. I asked him about that night."

"What did he say?" Buffy asked after she regained control of the Old One snarling in her head.

"He said that he did it because he wanted you to focus on the fight, and not try to just hold him off until I did the spell, because he knew that Angelus would take advantage of your hesitation." Willow recited from memory. "He was very eloquent with his explanation, and you know what that means."

Buffy nodded. It was something he did when he practiced his apologies. He only did it when he knew he screwed up big, and needed a good explanation in case he was caught.

"He's really upset that you won't see him, although he's freaked out that your part demon now." Willow frowned, remembering Xander's reaction when she told him. The first thing he'd said was that they had to find a way to get it out of her.

"I suppose." Buffy muttered. "It's just going to take time. My reactions aren't entirely my own anymore, and my demon doesn't forgive betrayal, since it was a betrayal that left it weak enough for the Shadowmen to capture and use her to make the First Slayer."

'**We should just kill him and be done with it.'** Lillith snarled.

'_We can't. He's young and what he did was stupid and wrong, but he's still my friend.'_ Buffy told her.

"Well, when you do see him," Willow said, unknowingly interrupting the argument. "please don't kill him. He's still our best friend, even if he is a stupid poophead sometimes, and he's really sorry."

'_See?_' Buffy said to the demon in her head, then focused on Willow once again. "Will, I need to go out and feed soon. Do you want me to walk you home?"

Looking out the window, Willow realized that it had gotten dark without her realizing it, and she nodded.


	5. Chapter Four

A/N: Forgot something in the disclaimer

A/N: Forgot something in the disclaimer. Nothing bad, I promise. Just this. Conversations between Buffy and Lillith are always mental. Although Lillith sometimes has control of the body, and can speak to other people when she does, she is an entity _inside_ of Buffy so speech between them is _always_ mental speech. Lillith's speech is in '**bold'**, and when Buffy speaks to her, Buffy's speech is in _'italics'_, unless she inadvertently speaks out loud, which will be clearly indicated.

Chapter Four

Buffy faced the mirror and absorbed the changes that had occurred because of her "visit" to what had turned out to be a magic dealer. A vision of terrible beauty looked back with glowing amber eyes. She noted the changes almost calmly, as Lillith nestled in her subconscious, sated as never before from the enormous meal all of that wild, chaotic magic the magic dealer had turned out to be hoarding. It had strengthened her immensely, and the merging between them was very nearly complete.

Her once blonde hair was now completely crimson, no hint of the old color at all. Her "skin" was darker, with a golden tint that looked surprisingly like a dark tan. Running her clawed fingers down her torso, she felt along the incredibly tiny scales that had grown to cover her torso, shoulders and neck. With a thought, the scales morphed to cover her entire body, becoming an armor strong enough to protect against even pure demons most effectively. She flexed her hands, looking curiously at the thicker fingers and sharp claws.

However, it was the last changes that left her in slack-jawed awe. Experimentally she flexed muscles she had not had previously, expanding the darkly beautiful wings that had been nestled at her back. At their widest extent, it was clear that her wingspan was at least ten feet across, maybe twelve from tip to tip. The outside of the wings were black, with the underside being a midnight blue/purple. _To blend with the night, _she mused. An movement brought her last noticeable inhuman trait to her attention. Twitching in response of her mild agitation, the five foot long prehensile tail was the same color as her skin, also scaled. At Lillith's request she relinquished temporary control of her body, and watched as Lillith demonstrated that her tail was easily capable of manipulating objects.

'_Is this what you looked like?' _Buffy asked in wonder.

'**It looks to be a mixture of us both.'** Lillith answered, satisfaction with the results of the merging ringing through her 'tone'. **'I did not have a human form in any way. The scales are much smaller, and mine covered the majority of my form. Although the wings are perfect. In all, it looks as though we have blended quite well.'**

Before Buffy could answer, the phone rang. Glancing at the caller ID, she shifted back into her human form and picked it up. "Hi, mom."

"Hi, honey. I was wondering if you'd like to join Faith and I for dinner."

Buffy took a moment to wonder how Faith would react to her new sense of presence. On her way back home, she had noticed how all of the night dwellers had seemed to disappear from her path. She grinned mischievously. "Sure, sounds like fun. Maybe we can do a patrol together afterwards."

Buffy had thought it amusing how, after all the years sneaking out so that her mother wouldn't find out about her slaying, she discovered that, convincing Faith to move in with her, Joyce had instituted the simple rule of dinner before patrol. It made her wish that she'd had the guts to tell her mother the truth way back then, before it had all come to light the horrible way it had, but first Merrick then Giles had told her over and over that it was too dangerous, and she had listened. It was one of the few things she'd actually listened to.

"Great." Joyce said brightly. "Dinner will be ready in half an hour."

She got dressed and stepped out of the house. Warding it had been quick and easy after she had returned. Anything that attempted to step into the property that didn't belong was in for a nasty, nasty surprise. As she walked, she wondered if Willow would go flying with her sometime, after she got used to her altered form.

'_Hey, Lillith?'_ Buffy called as something occurred to her. _'Now that you are reawakened, how does that affect the Slayer Line?'_

Lillith's chuckle was dark and wicked. **'I can stop the 'Slayer Line' completely. I can even draw the small part out of the other female if I so choose.'**

'_In other words, we could control who becomes the next Slayer if we wished?' _Buffy realized, slightly awed. _'What are you going to do?'_

'**Wait and see what this world has become since the,'** Lillith searched Buffy's mind for an adequate word. **'ah, the revolution. However, if they try to separate us, this does provide a valuable threat, if nothing else.'**

Buffy nodded thoughtfully, absentmindedly sending out a tendril of power to dust a small group of vamps heading towards the Bronze a few blocks away. She stopped a moment, just looking up at her old home. She could sense the essence of the Slayer that had seeped into the house and yard, started by her, and continued by Faith. '_Can we put a ward around Mom's house, too?'_

'**If you wish.' **Lillith answered. **'You know how to do it now.'**

She knocked on the door, inhaling the scent of baked pork chops and wild rice, and listened as Faith thundered down the stairs. A moment later, the door swung open. "What's up, B?"

"Hey Faith." Buffy returned. "Can we talk out here for a minute?"

"Sure." Faith stepped outside and closed the door. "What's up?"

"The merging between me and my demon is almost complete, and I wanted you to be able to recognize me if you sensed or saw me in my demon form, because I _really_ don't want to have to explain to everyone why I killed you after you attacked me."

Faith jerked slightly, but realized that Buffy wasn't slighting her or her abilities in any way. She simply knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that Faith could not defeat her.

"When we go out patrolling tonight, I'll be using another form. I understand that you will tell Giles about it, but the others will see me in their own time." Faith nodded. "Right now, though, I think you need a taste of what you may sense from me, so you will know what to expect and won't be overwhelmed."

Buffy loosened the tight reign that she kept on her essence or aura or whatever Lillith had said it was. Faith swayed as the intense sense of presence washed over her like a tidal wave. She would have collapsed if Buffy hadn't reined it back in and caught her by the arms. Faith stared at her with wide eyes, frightened for the first time since Kakistos had chased her off the east coast. Regardless, she recovered quickly. "Holy shit, B! Good thing you're on my side."

Buffy smiled, holding her until she was steady on her feet. They went back inside just as Joyce was turning off the stove. Without thinking, Buffy moved to the cabinets to set the table and Faith, whose job it had become after she'd moved in, left her to it with an amused smirk and went to the fridge for drinks. They ate and talked. Joyce asked Buffy about the mansion, and Buffy asked Faith about her life before becoming the Slayer. Faith gave her the bare basics. She roamed, she made a little cash, she moved on. Soon enough, dinner was finished and Buffy and Faith were ready to patrol.

"You need any gear?" Faith asked her. "I kinda inherited your weapons chest."

"I'm good." Buffy told her. "Although I need to get out of these clothes so I don't ruin them. I'll meet you out front."

"Okay, sure."

Once Faith was gone, Buffy quickly undressed and shifted to a form about halfway between her human one and her demon one, the way she had looked when she'd first arrived back, with a few smaller additions. Her head tilted back as she concentrated, and an ink-like stain seemed to slither across her form, shifting to her mind's dictates. When she was finished, she took a moment to determine she had a suitable amount covering her, before she joined Faith outside.

"Wow, B. Nice leathers." The other girl commented. "Never seen those before and, believe me, I've been all over the leather stores at the mall."

"They're custom-made." Buffy told her. "Let's go. There is a small group of demons on the other side of town."

"What about the vamps?"

"I took out a group on my way here. I don't sense anymore near the people, although there are a few just outside of town."

"Wicked senses ya got there, B." Faith admired. "Can I be you when I grow up?"

Buffy laughed. Lillith laughed along with her. **'I like this female**.'

They made their way through town at a comfortable pace. "Hey, B, I thought you didn't attack that baddies unless they were munching on folks. Have these things done something yet?"

"Even I'd have to make an exception for breeders." Buffy told her. "Five of them arrived two days ago. I do not know if they have been feeding off anyone or anything, but now I sense that there are at least fifteen."

Faith looked at her surprised. That couldn't be good, no matter how you looked at it. She followed Buffy, who seemed to know exactly where she was going and led them into a part of town that was run down and abandoned. As they made their way towards the pier, the demons finally pinged on her own inner sense. Suddenly, Buffy came to an abrupt stop over a manhole cover. "Here."

Faith looked at her like she'd lost her mind, hating running through the sewers, but finally shrugged to herself when Buffy ignored her, pulled off the manhole cover and dropped into the dark pit. Sighing in resignation for having to buy new leathers, _yet again_, she quickly followed. They hadn't moved five feet before they were attacked. She quickly pulled the sword that was sheathed at her back and slashed out where her senses told her to. She shuddered slightly as Buffy released just enough of her own essence for Faith to know where she was, but not enough to overwhelm her.

Despite the darkness, Buffy could see everything clearly. She watched Faith fight, the wildness and power in her blows, gauging her technique. Casually, she snapped the neck of one of the S'kirrat demons, Lillith having identified them on sight, and shifted her hands to claws to gut two more. Even though they were being attacked from both sides, to Buffy and Lillith, they were moving slow enough that she could fight and watch Faith at the same time. A sharp lance of power made the head of one of the demons sneaking up on Faith's blindside explode messily, and Lillith chuckled in amusement at Faith's reaction to the 'blood' that drenched her from behind.

"God damn it, B, watch that shit!" Faith yelled at her even as she beheaded the demon she was fighting. "This jacket cost me 80 bucks!"

A few minutes later, all of the S'kirrat demons were dead and Faith and Buffy were climbing back out of the sewer after destroying their nest. Since they were closer, Buffy took Faith to the mansion to that she could get rid of the worst of the mess covering her and bandage the wounds that she had received, and gave her free reign to her wardrobe for fresh clothes to wear back home.

"You gonna come back and get your stuff?" Faith asked.

"I've already got it." Buffy told her. "Tell mom that I'll call her tomorrow. There's something that I need to discuss with the two of you."


	6. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Buffy stood on the upper balcony of the master bedroom, looking out over the town of Sunnydale. It was late afternoon, and she could see the townspeople moving about their business that they didn't dare leave for after dark. She could also feel the restless stirring of the creatures and demons both above ground and below it. They _knew_ that there was a new power in town, but they didn't know who, what or where it was. Buffy was careful to keep her 'sense of presence' completely shielded outside the boundaries that she had set up around her lair.

'**We should take control of this Hellmouth.'** Lillith suddenly said.

'_What?'_ Buffy said, shocked. '_Why?'_

'**You want to stop the killing of the humans, do you not?' **Lillith asked her. **'What better way than to control the territory and make the rules ourselves. We cannot change their nature, but we can 'impress' upon them the necessity of refraining from killing, at the very least, within the boundaries of our territory.'**

'_What about outside Sunnydale?'_

'**Outside is not our concern.'** Lillith answered simply. '**If you want to build an Empire, you must start small.'**

'_I don't want to build an Empire!'_ Buffy exclaimed. Leaning against the railing, Buffy considered what Lillith was saying. _'We won't be able to police it all. Most of the demons, especially the vamps, aren't long term. They come into Sunnydale, mainly trying to open the Hellmouth, but the idea has merit for the demons that actually live here. A lot of them are just trying to survive, and wouldn't mind a Master keeping the Big Bads off their doorstep.'_

'**Ahh, so you like the idea?' **Lillith chuckled.

Buffy smirked. She knew that her sense of right and wrong had been 'affected' by the merging. She recognized that Lillith's natural amorality was changing her. She no longer saw the world in simply black or white, or even shades of grey. The stronger the merging had become, the more her only concerns were what she wanted, and how far she was willing to go to get it. All that held her back anymore was her knowledge of what she should and shouldn't do. She idly wondered just when her conscience began to fade. Talk about walking a fine line. She shrugged to herself. Oh well.

'_This is more your thing than mine, so feel free to do it as you like. One thing though, none of them can know my human form. If anyone or anything recognizes me, that will just lead right to the Scoobies, and my Mom.'_

'**Agreed. We will need servants that we can trust. Loyal to us above all.'**

"Well, should be interesting, if nothing else." Buffy said aloud, her eyes still gazing out over the small town. "Anyway, let's go see what the others are up to."

BtVS AU BtVS

"I'm telling you, Watcher man, it was wicked the way she was slicing through those demons with them claws." Faith said as she worked out. "She went through them like they were nothing, just gutting them and snapping their necks like twigs. I don't even know how she made that one demon's head explode all over me. Woulda ruined my favorite jacket if I hadn't spent the extra money to have it extra-treated, or whatever that sales lady called it."

"And you say that she was shape-shifted into a demonic visage?" Giles asked, cleaning his glasses.

Faith paused as she interpreted that last part. "Oh, yeah. Eye color was different, kinda like a red and gold mix. Hair was dirty blonde with dark red streaks." She stopped completely and turned to face the Watcher. "She let me feel a sense of her power, so I'd recognize her, you know, and I'm telling you, Giles, it almost knocked me out, it was so strong."

"Are you sure she is not a threat?"

"Hell yes, that chick's a threat." Faith looked at him like he was on crack. "Just not to anyone she cares about. She asked Mrs. S if she could put wards up around her house, to keep the baddies out, and something about a mark of protection."

"Dear Lord."

"G-Man, it's too early to be Dear Lording," Xander joked as he entered the training room with a box of bakery donuts, followed by Willow and Cordelia. "I mean, we just got here and haven't had the necessary sugar requirement to cushion the blow."

"We were talking about B, Xan-man." Faith said, grabbing one of the donuts. "And her wicked demon upgrade."

"Speaking of which, how are we going to get the demon out of her?" Xander asked. They looked at him, except Cordelia, who was more interested in manicuring her nails. "Oh, c'mon guys, you can't think that she wants to keep it inside her now that she doesn't need it anymore."

Suddenly, Xander eyes popped open and his hands began clutching at his throat.

"And did it occur to you to ask me what I wanted, Xander?" Buffy asked silkily, amber eyes nearly glowing with her power, as she strolled in.

"B-Buffy." Xander gasped, breathing in gulps of air as she released him.

Buffy turned to Giles. "There is no way to separate us. We are merged, not separate entities in the same body. "My demon is a part of me like the Slayer is a part of Faith." Considering the matter closed, she turned to her (maybe former) friend. "Now, Xander, would you mind telling me why you lied? Did you think that I wouldn't have done what was necessary? Did you think that I was incapable of keeping him distracted until Willow could do the spell? Or maybe you were hoping that I'd kill him before she could do it? I remember that you never liked Angel, even though he was one of us."

With all eyes focused on him, Xander began to feel trapped. He had known, since the day that Willow had demanded a similar explanation, that this was coming. He hadn't expected it to be with an audience, though. He kept his attention warily focused on this new Buffy, one he didn't like one bit. He found himself caught in those eyes, and despite knowing how damning it was going to be couldn't help but tell the truth. "I knew that if you knew that Willow was going to try the spell, you wouldn't be focused on trying to beat him, and he would have killed you. I read all about him when we first found out who he was. He would have used any weakness he could find, and he would have killed out. Soul or no soul, he was a sick, sadistic bastard and he deserved to die. You should have killed him as soon as we found out he lost his soul!"

"So, instead, I had to get caught by surprise." Buffy revealed. "You see, Xander, it wouldn't have matter if it was Angelus, or if it was Angel. He had already completed the ritual, and his blood was the only thing that could stop the portal. I would have had to kill him either way. I _could_ have used the knowledge to my own advantage, since just knowing that Willow was attempting it would have distracted him, but because I _didn't_ know, the abrupt change made me hesitate anyway, and even though it didn't work, that one moment of surprise gave Angelus just enough of an advantage to drag me into the portal with him."

Xander paled as he began to realize the enormity of what his little lie had done, his eyes darting around at the others in an attempt to avoid her glare. Giles had also paled at the revelation. Faith looked on, more curious than anything else, since she didn't really know the history. Cordelia was shaking her head in that resigned way she had when his stupidity was revealed. Willow, however, was looking furious, and he knew that she was going to yell at him the moment they were alone. He made a note to himself to avoid being alone with her for the rest of the day. She could yell at him later.

"I am not the same girl that I was back then." Buffy leaned in very close to him. "Do not cross me again."

No one had moved during the entire confrontation. It was obvious to them all that Buffy had just drawn her proverbial line in the sand.

"Ahem, yes, well..." Giles finally uttered. "Buffy, Faith was just telling me of last night's patrol."

"Was she?" Buffy smirked.

Giles nodded absently. "She told me that you can shift your form, and I was wondering if I could see your other form. Maybe it will help determine just what type of demon you have merged with. I would also know just was it is that you feed off of, since you no longer seem to require food."

Buffy thought about it for a moment, weighing the pros and cons of his request. "It would have to stay between us. I won't have the Watchers Council chasing me down like a rabid dog."

"Of course not."

"We feed on supernatural energy." Buffy continued as if he hadn't spoken. "Power is best, but we can drain the life energy from a supernatural creature as well."

"When you say power..."

"You have quite a bit built up inside of you, Giles. Willow has an untouched wellspring inside of her as well. She could be truly powerful if she can tap into it. Witches and Warlock, Demons and Werewolves, all are made up of one type of supernatural energy or another, and I can feed on it all. If I wished, I could feed off of the energy of the Hellmouth itself."

"Well, you are obviously becoming powerful in your own right. What are your plans? What is to stop your demon from convincing you to attempt to open the Hellmouth once you've completely merged."

"Why, I plan to take over Sunnydale, of course." Buffy laughed delightedly as shock rippled through the room. "Besides, there's nothing stopping me now. I can open the Hellmouth at any time, if I wanted."

"What?!" Cordelia choked unexpectedly.

"Are you serious?" Willow gasped.

"See! I told you we needed to get... urk..." Xander found his argument choked off by very real fingers around this throat this time and was forced to his knees with unnerving ease.

Faith, who had been merely watching things unfold, instinctively jumped up to defend, until some unseen force shoved her back into her seat and held her there.

**"You should really be careful of what comes out of your mouth."** Buffy's voice had taken on a deeper, darker tone that they immediately realized was the demon inside. It was obviously fed up with Xander.

"Buffy, please." Willow laid a trembling hand on her arm. "You just took us by surprise. Why would you want to take over Sunnydale?"

"So that anyone or anything that comes here looking for trouble, will come looking for me first." Buffy answered without taking her eyes off Xander, her voice normal once again. His face was turning an interesting shade of purple.

'**Tell me why we can't kill him!'** Lillith fumed inside her head.

'_Because I promised Willow.'_ Finally, she released him, and returned her attention to her former Watcher. "With the demons that live here under my control, I will be the first to hear any whispers, long before they can become true problems. Faith will still have vampires and demons to slay, but the big bads will come in under her radar, find a place to set up shop and start making local contacts. I want those contacts to answer to me."


	7. Chapter Six

Chapter Six

Chapter Six

Buffy remained at the Scooby meeting for a while longer, merely sitting and listening in relative, if slightly unnerving silence. Xander, wise boy that he was trying to become, stayed on the other side of the room, not even knowing that he could be on the other side of the planet and still not be out of her reach. In truth, she was barely listening to any of them. She was going over options of the upcoming takeover with Lillith in her head.

'_You know, Willow's the smartest person in this town.'_ Buffy turned her head to study her best friend. _'We could use her to keep up with things that neither one of us is going to want to do.'_

'**You just want her close by.'** Lillith chuckled. **'Although it might be a good idea to keep her close by, in case these fools decide to do something foolish.'**

'_You don't think they would, do you?'_ Buffy asked, a little startled.

'**You would.'** Lillith replied flatly, proving that she had better access to Buffy's memories than Buffy did.

Finally, Buffy got bored and abruptly stood up, drawing everyone's attention. She smirked at the wary look on Giles' face and the frightened look on Xander's. "I'm going to kill that vamp heading for the Bronze and then go home."

"Vamp?" Faith jumped up, ready for some action. She hated sitting through these stupid meetings.

"It's just the one." Buffy disappointed her. "But if it makes you feel any better, there seems to be a medium sized group headed in this direction. Should be here in a few days or so."

She chuckled when Faith dropped back down in her seat with a huff. She really liked Faith. The girl was as upfront and as blunt as they came, and certainly not averse to having fun, if the scents covering her body was any indication. Faith smelled like alcohol and sex, hours old, so probably from the last night after she had left the mansion. Smiling to herself, she walked the few blocks to the Bronze and paid her entry fee. She hadn't been here since she'd returned. There were too many people for her to be comfortable. Following her senses, she tracked the vampire and his intended victim upstairs to a less populated area. She shifted in the shadows, doing a completely shift and folding her wings over her shoulders like a cloak, but kept her power tightly leashed so that he wouldn't sense her approach. In this form, being more Lillith than Buffy, her senses were even greater, and she recognized the shielding around the victim.

'**A Na'Gash.' **Buffy could almost imagine Lillith licking her lips. Suddenly, images flashed in her mind. Lillith and her mate had kept Na'Gash as sexual servants. She almost moaned out loud as her body reacted to the x-rated scenes.

More aroused than she ever remembered being in her life, Buffy stepped in close behind the vampire that was holding the young pleasure demon against the wall as she struggled. Before he could react to her sudden presence, she slammed an inhumanly strong blow to the small of his back, the sound of his spine shattering clearly audible to her ears. He dropped instantly. "Now, that's no way to treat a girl."

Amber eyes swept over the girl, accessing the damage. Her fingers were clutching the wall behind her and her neck was still bleeding from the puncture wounds. Leaning over, she drew her tongue over the bite mark, a sensual healing that had the Na'Gash shuddering against the wall and her eyes closing with a gasp. "Mistress."

"**Mmm, yes."** Lillith was fully in control now. Every supernatural creature for miles could feel her power. She knew that the Na'Gash would recognize her, even though they had most assuredly never met. After all, the creatures had been created for her pleasure in the first place by her ever considerate mate. Their recognition of their Mistress would be in the very fabric of their beings. It had been an unfathomable number of years since she'd had a body to fuck with, and suddenly her hunger was ravenous and overwhelming. Casually ripping open the girl's shirt, she filled her hands with full breasts. The Na'Gash arched into her touch with a whimper of need.

'_Lillith, what are you doing?_' Buffy asked, caught between amusement, lust and outrage.

'**Taking what's mine.**'

'_Think you can take it later? By the time you're finished what you're planning, that vamp will be healed and gone. We have plans for him, remember?'_

Lillith turned to the vampire with a snarl. The hybrid whimpered in terror, not knowing what was going on or where this shockingly powerful creature had come from. Lillith returned her attention to the girl before her, whose face reflected her lust, fear and confusion. "You will return to your home and wait for me." The Na'Gash nodded. "Go now."

After the girl had stumbled towards her home, Buffy/Lillith flexed her wings slightly and turned to stare down at the crippled vampire. He was at least a century old. With a thought, she took them both back to the mansion, into the little room in the basement that Angelus had obviously used for torturing. She had decided to keep it, never knowing when she might need to get information out of someone or something in a harder, and infinitely more entertaining, way. Grabbing a handful of hair, she dragged him over to a wood table, arranging him as she wished, since he was completely paralyzed at the moment.

"I have a little job for you." She said, ignoring his snarling.

"I'm not doing anything that doesn't include ripping your spine out and hanging you with it as I drain you." The vampire growled.

'**Now, that sounds amusing.'** Lillith admitted. **'We should try that.'**

'_Lil, focus.'_ Buffy admonished. "You're going to do this whether you want to or not. You are going to announce that there is a new Master in Sunnydale. Now, you can either do it voluntarily, and get out of here, still undead, for the most part, or, I can take your body parts and leave them in strategic places, keeping you here, alive and in agony, so that those parts won't turn to dust, starting with your fangs and your eyes."

As she spoke, she casually drew one of her claws up the length of his arm, slicing open the vein and filling the air with the scent of stale blood. She pushed the arm off the side of the table to let the blood pour into a conveniently placed drain. "Maybe I'll have them delivered to the demon bar, along with your heart, since you don't seem to be using it for anything."

In all his six hundred years, Edward Carstairs had never been more afraid than he was right now, and he had crossed the Scourge of Europe once. The ease in which she had incapacitated him, and the abject calmness of how she spoke of mutilating him to get her message across and how she had efficiently brought him to the point of starving terrified him more than all of Scourge's deadly games and manipulation, even Angelus.

"What do you want?"

Buffy smiled, revealing sharp teeth. "I want you to spread the word, Sunnydale has been Claimed and killing without my permission is forbidden and punishable by torture and/or death, depending on my mood. Then you should leave town. I have no tolerance for vampires. They are undisciplined and wasteful. I have no problems merely handing you over to the Slayer. You, however, will suffer much, much more if you are here longer than you have to be, or if you take even one more life. I will drain you, shackle you to the roof of the butcher shop and allow you to go mad with hunger before killing you."

"Fine, just let me go."

"Of course." Buffy nodded. "I hope your handwriting is legible, because I want to be sure my point is effective."

With that, she used a ripple of power to open his mouth and tear out his tongue. Such an action would have been messy if she hadn't drained him already. She left him screaming in mindless agony. She would drop him and his tongue on the steps of the demon bar just before the sun rose. Taking the door that lead directly outside, she breathed deeply of the clean night air, stretching her wings fully before using the breeze to launch herself into the air. She reveled in the pure joy and freedom of flying before Lillith shifted their focus to tracking down the little Na'Gash. **'Just because you were repressed and uptight as a human, doesn't mean we're going to be now.'**

_'Hey, I was not repressed or uptight!'_ Buffy denied vehemently. _'Those were just normal human inhibitions.'_

With the taste of her blood, there was nowhere the little demon could go that they couldn't find her. She found the small house where the Na'Gash had gone, assuming it was her home, and sensed another presence inside.

"Sera, what's going on?" The other presence, also a Na'Gash, was saying. "You tell me that you're going out with friends, then return not even an hour later with your shirt torn open! I want to know what happened! If someone attacked you, they are going to die!"

"The Mistress told me to come home and wait for her."

"Mistress?!" The word was almost screamed. "We have no Mistress. Regardless of who tries, none can claim us. We only use the charms so that they will stop trying. Now start talking sense or I'm calling your Mother!"

Buffy gave Lillith control and settled to watch. Lillith didn't bother knocking. Instead, she merely broke the doorknob off the door, punched through the deadbolt, and walked right in. **"There you are, my sweet."** She allowed her power to wash over the two women, and they both instantly bowed their heads submissively. **"Who do we have here?"**

"My g-guardian." Sera answered softly. "M-my mother is the Matriarch of our c-clan."

"Sera!" Her guardian cried. She sensed the almost familiar power and presence, but resisted its lure. She had to protect the Heir. Her protest was cut off before she could voice it further.

"**Silence." **Lillith commanded, not taking her attention from the younger one.** "What is her name?"**

Sera glanced over at her guardian for a heartbeat before lowering her eyes once more. "Callista."

Lillith turned to Callista. **"I assume that you have a way of staying in contact with your Matriarch."** Callista reluctantly nodded. **"Do so. I will speak with her."**

Lillith followed them into a hidden room. She could easily sense the power. Retracting her wings back into her body, she settled on a plush chair, and pulled Sera down on her knees between her legs and reacquainted herself with the girl's breasts. She pinched and pulled at the nipples, one of their many erogenous zones and so much more sensitive than humans, her sex twitching at the needy whimpers and fingers closed convulsively on her thighs.

"**Remove your clothing, and sit on my lap."** Lillith commanded. **"Facing the impudent one over there."**

Trembling, the girl obeyed, and gasped as her legs were immediately spread, leaving her exposed. Her arousal had made her spots clearly visible. The more visible they were, the more sensitive they became. Lillith ran her claws carefully up the spots on her inner thighs before using the pads of her fingers on the slick spotted lips of her sex, smiling in satisfaction as the girl cried out in an unexpected climax. Just in time to be witnessed by the hazy form of a Na'Gash older than both her and her guardian.

'_From the extremely pissed look on her face,'_ Buffy commented as Lillith licked the juices from her fingers. _'I'm guessing that's her mother.'_


	8. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

"Callista!" The apparition exclaimed. "What is the meaning of this?!"

"I am sorry, Mala." Callista cried. "There is nothing that I can do."

"**You are a delicious one, aren't you."** Lillith complimented as she lifted Sera off her lap and held her steady as she knelt next to the chair. Rising smoothly, she waved Callista away as she moved to stand before the image of the Matriarch. Before the Matriarch even considered she might be in danger, Lillith reached out and wrapped her clawed hand around the back of her neck, and pulled her forward as if she was trying to kiss her. The Matriarch gasped, as she was suddenly pulled into the house from her own home many miles away. **"Now, Mala, isn't this better?"**

The Matriarch gasped. Nothing had power like this. Almost as soon as the thought processed, a wave of power washed over her. Familiar to her in a way that few things were. Her eyes snapped to the amber gaze, searching, praying for what she was sensing to be true. "Mistress?"

Lillith smiled sultrily. **"Give me your wrist."**

With trembling fingers, Mala unbuttoned and shoved up the sleeve and held out her arm. Lillith brought the wrist up to her mouth, licking it teasingly before sinking her teeth deep, binding the Matriarch to her. Only the bite of their Mistress affected that particular erogenous zone, only _she_ could bind them, and Mala's entire body spasmed in a wave of pleasure that started at her wrist and ignited along the path of the spots suddenly visible all over her body. She would have collapsed at her beloved Mistress' feet if Lillith had not held her up.

"_Mistress._" Mala whispered reverently as she settled once again. "You have returned."

Lillith took the Matriarch's mouth in a fierce, almost brutal kiss before suddenly releasing her and returning to her chair, where Sera was still kneeling**. "Your offspring is sweet. She will be a delightful Pet until it is her time to lead."**

"You will not rebuild your Empire?" Mala questioned softly.

"**My mate is gone, and this world is much changed."** Lillith said, running her fingers through Sera's soft hair. **"My brethren are gone, and all that is left are weak, pale imitations. Although here rests the Hellmouth, I have no wish to rebuild the world that led to the deaths of my mate and me."**

"If I may ask, how is it that you have returned?" The Matriarch asked. "It is said that the essences of those that could not be destroyed were banished into a prison known as the Deeper Well, and guarded by warriors whose sole purpose in life is to keep them there. The Master rests there."

"**When your predecessors tried to defend me, I managed to escape our betrayers before they could kill me, although I was mortally wounded. Before I could heal, I was found by human mages, who struck the death blow and stole my essence to create the being known as the Slayer. My host was such a being, but circumstances forced us to merge into one in order to survive. Find out all you can about this Deeper Well. I want my mate returned to me if it is at all possible. For now, however, I have laid Claim to this place as my own. My host was a protector of humans, and because I see no other reason not to, we have chosen to take Sunnydale, to keep the Hellmouth in our hands."**

"How may we serve?" Mala immediately asked.

"**I will not have a repeat of the past. I will surround myself with only those that I trust. Even though you were merely servants, you proved yourselves in trying to protect us. Now, you will be my most trusted. In return, my protection is once again yours. As it should be."**

"What of the other clans." Mala asked. "We are few in numbers, and scattered. Since we cannot be bonded to any but you, Mistress, and the Master, those of us who did not escape your murderers were killed or enslaved. If you send out the call, they will come, no matter the cost."

Lillith considered it, and so did Buffy. They came to the same conclusion. **"One problem at a time, Mala. Let us get situated here."**

After sending the Matriarch back where she had taken her from, Lillith spoke with Callista about gathering their things together to move into the mansion. Mala and the rest of their clan would be arriving within a fortnight. As she talked, she continued to tease the delightfully sensitive spots of her future Pet. Finally dismissing Callista, smirking at the flush of arousal on the older demon, Lillith allowed her form to shift to the neutral visage and maneuvered Sera to kneel between her thighs. Almost immediately, Sera's tongue stroked the slick inside of her thighs, hungrily lapping up the thick juices. Lillith growled her approval. This one had good instincts. She felt Buffy's curiosity and interest in the sensations flooding their body. Lillith understood her host's hesitation. Although her initiation had been gentle, what happened because of it had severely affected both her memories and her feelings toward it.

**'Just think,'** Lillith said silkily, eyes narrowing in lust as Sera's tongue moved over her sex. **'this is what you could enjoy with the young mage.'**

_Oh yes,_ she thought as her hips began to undulate in the seat, _good instincts indeed. _She decided very quickly that she appreciated the fact that this body was much more human than demon. The tactile sensitivity was delicious. Her appetites had been diverse and vast, and the human responsiveness to both pleasure and pain had been why she'd had as many human concubines as demons. She gasped and pulled the young Na'Gash closer when the girl took her clitoris between her lips and began a hard suction.

**'There are definite advantages to your shell.'** Lillith said to Buffy as their orgasm shuddered through their body. **'I think the young mage would make an excellent concubine to compliment our little pet here. With proper training, they could provide us with endless entertainment.'**

_'I don't know.'_ Buffy said quietly. Despite the effects that the merging had one her moral compass, her dedication to her loved ones' protection had never changed. However, the thought of Willow in Sera's position, doing what Sera was currently doing, was as arousing as it was unnerving.

Lillith sensed her wavering and carefully pressed, as she lifted Sera to straddle her lap. **'Train her with a gentle touch, and she will grow to love both the pleasure and the pain.' **Lillith seduced, showing Buffy exactly what she meant. She could almost hear her host panting as she brought forth a memory of such a training with a young human presented as to her as a gift. Although she was careful to keep her the intensity of her interest from her very protective host, she wanted the young human herself. Such potential.

Leaving her host to her 'entertainment', Lillith returned her attention to the lithe, spotted body straddling her. She looked forward to the training, as she always did, but first things first. It had been an eon since she'd had the consciousness, must less the body, for physical pleasures, and she intended to get her fill. Using her tail to hold the young demon's hands at the small of her back, she teased and caressed the dark spots, alternating between gently strokes and almost painful scratching. She reveled in the resulting cries of pleasuring and whimpers of need.

"**You will not orgasm until I give you permission."** Lillith commanded the girl. **"Has any touched your body before me, pet?"**

"O-only me, Mistress." Sera panted. Her nature was extremely sexual, but she had not been prepared to take that final step. Her head fell back with a gasp as another surge of pleasure roared through her. She had never experienced anything like this.

"**Perfect."** Lillith approved as she lowered her head and took a hardened nipple into her mouth, biting down carefully with sharp teeth and pulling. At the same time, she pressed the fingers of one hand firmly into the dark spots of Sera's inner thigh and used two fingers of the other hand to push into her dripping sex. She felt inner muscles clamp down hard, but ignored it as she began a steady rhythm. Barely a moment later, Sera's body began to move, and Lillith stopped all movement and raised her head from the girl's breast. **"Be still."**

Sera nearly choked on her cry of frustration, instinctively knowing that to utter it would be a mistake. After a moment, Lillith mouth returned to her aching nipple and her fingers began to move once again. She couldn't stop the sigh from escaping, and prayed that it was acceptable. Her entire body quivered with the need to move, but somehow, she held still. Finally, Lillith released her hands and looked her in the eyes.

"**Very good."** She praised her, releasing her wrists and curling her tail around the girl's waist. She could feel the delicious tremors. **"Give me your wrist."**

Shaking, on the very edge of release, Sera brought her wrist to Lillith's mouth.

"**Do you with to truly be my Pet? You know what would be expected of you."** Lillith unexpectedly asked. In the old days, it would never have occurred to her to ask such a question. The Na'Gash were made to serve her, and as such, were hers to take as she wished. She realized that the merging had affected her as much as her host. However, she wasn't above stacking the deck in her favor as her used the pad of her thumb on the hard nub of the girl's clitoris.

"Yes, Mistress, please." Sera pleaded, still holding as still as possible. "I wish to continue with schooling, but I would be honored to be your Pet."

"**Then come for me, my Pet."** Lillith ordered, sinking her teeth deep into her wrist.


	9. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

Callista found Buffy sitting on her porch the next morning. At first, she had no idea who the young blonde was, but the moment the girl turned to meet her eyes, she felt the power through that silent connection. She beckoned with a gesture and Callista joined her outside. "Call the school and tell me that Sera won't be in today, due to family obligations, but she will be by later to pick up her classwork."

"Is she alright, Mistress?" Callista asked, a little worried. The fact that this was their Mistress still awed her.

"She's fine, just exhausted." Buffy assured her. "It was nearly dawn before Lil finally let her sleep."

Lillith had kept the girl up for hours, only allowing her to rest when Buffy reminded her that they needed to dump the vampire off at the local demon bar. Right now, the Old One was practically purring in satiation, and more than content to let Buffy have the day. "In this form, I am known as Buffy Summers. I was the Slayer here until a few months ago. My family and my friends know about the demon inside, but not anything specific, and I intend to keep it that way for as long as possible. They know about my plans for Sunnydale, so for now, just say that you work for me, if they ask. I'll tell Sera what she can or cannot say."

"Yes, Mistress." Callista went back for the cordless phone, then returned to the porch and made the call.

"Tell me about the Na'Gash." Buffy requested. "I've never heard of you before now. Lil told me that her mate created you to be her sexual servants?"

"Yes." Callista nodded. The knowledge of their origins was genetic, so all Na'Gash knew who and what they were. "We were created to have the tactile sensitivity of humans and the strength and durability of demons. Our Mistress' amusements were sometimes exceedingly rough and always long. Humans were often not strong enough to endure it, especially females, which she preferred."

**'Several of my concubines died. It is before I discovered 'restraint'.'** Lillith added, feeding her images of her play. **'Regardless, it was annoying and inconvenient to have to cut my entertainment short.'**

"She is so different from other demons I've encountered, or ever even heard of." Buffy commented.

"The Mistress was what humans refer to as extremely hedonistic. She cared more for her own pleasures, than for power, even though she was more powerful than most. The majority of the pleasure demons were created for her entertainments, although we were the only ones that were created to be bonded to the Master and Mistress."

Buffy listened with interest as Callista detailed their history since the Old Ones were defeated and the pure demons were forced from this dimension. She knew that Lillith was listening attentively as well, adding her own comments sporadically, and paying close attention to which of her enemies had killed or enslaved her favored Pets. The Na'Gash had evolved into a Matriarchy, since so few males were born. They were one of the few species, human or demon, that could procreate from same-sex relationships. Males were only born through cross-species breeding, which was rare itself since, for the Na'Gash, breeding had to be a conscious decision. Near mid-morning, Buffy glanced up over her shoulder as she sensed Sera waking. Buffy smiled when she came outside with a yawn and a stretch. Buffy smiled, bemused, when the girl immediately knelt at her side and laid her head in her lap.

"I want you to get some rest today, Sera." Buffy said. "We called you in sick today, but tomorrow, you're right back in school. What grade are you in?"

"I am a Senior, Mistress." Sera answered shyly.

"I'm going to introduce you both to my friend, Willow. You'll eventually get to know all the Scoobies, but Willow is the one you'll interact with the most." Buffy sat back, thinking. "You'll definitely need to be introduced to the current Slayer, Faith. I don't want any mistakes when it comes to you and her, especially with the entire clan coming into Sunnydale."

Callista gently rubbed the mark on her inner wrist. She had accepted her Mistress' bite the night before, and it had healed into her personal mark. The sight alone called up memories from deep within. She knew that if she looked, both Sera and the Matriarch would have identical marks. She also knew that every other member of her clan would be begging for the Mistress' bite the moment that they arrived. They had been created to serve the Master and Mistress and, although it was not always necessary for their survival, it filled a void that had been left in their lives since their 'deaths'.

Buffy knew that Callista was no longer paying attention to them, and left her to her thoughts as she told Sera what she could and could not reveal of their new relationship. When in school, she wanted her to keep the mark covered, suspecting that Giles would recognize the mark, even if he didn't know who or what it belonged to. Just the sight of an Old One's personal mark would make him suspicious and have him up in arms. Sera listened attentively and without question. Buffy ran her fingers through soft hair, smiling when the other girl nearly purred in contentment. She had enjoyed the things that the demon had done to her the night before, and couldn't wait until they did it again. She glanced over at the preoccupied Callista. Maybe she could have them both.

**'That's the spirit.'** Lillith purred.

_'You know, you really are a bad influence.'_ Buffy muttered even as she considered the possibilities.

**'Your point?'** Lillith said simply, using one of Buffy's favorite replies against her.

As they sat there, Buffy's mind drifted back to last night. The things that she had felt and done were so far out of her experience, but she had most definitely enjoyed every moment of it. One encounter in particular would remain etched in her mind for the rest of her existence. She had never realized the power felt in taking another's virginity.

_**- Flashback -**_

_As Sera recovered from her orgasm, combined with her reaction to her bite, Lillith carried her new Pet up the stairs, going instinctively to the Master bedroom. Buffy spared a momentary thought for Callista, but Lillith dismissed it almost immediately. It was irrelevant. At the moment, so was Callista. She fully intended to gorge herself in the body of this delicious child._

_She laid Sera on the bed, and smiled when the girl opened her eyes to look up at her in unconscious adoration. She spread Sera's legs, letting her claws trail teasingly over sensitive spots, and settled herself between them, leaning down to kiss her hungrily. By the time she pulled away, the girl was flushed once more and whimpering. She ran her tongue down the length of her neck until she could suck on a spotted, hard-tipped breast, using lips, tongue and teeth, not even minding the fingers clutched in her hair._

_"Oh, Mistress, please." Sera begged._

_Lillith raked her teeth over the flesh in her mouth until she had captured the stiff nipple. At the same time, she carefully, carefully used her sharp claw on the slick, swollen lips of the young demon's sex, and the girl climaxed deliciously all over her hand. Without giving her time to recover, she rolled them until she was on the bottom, and pushed her Pet down until she felt the panting breaths flutter over her own sex. Wrapping soft hair in her fist, she began to guide her Pet, telling her when to lick and when to suck and when to push in with that delightful tongue. She watched through narrow eyes as that pretty ass wiggled in the air from her kneeling position, before she noticed the view from a conveniently placed mirror._

_What was even more interesting was that the tip of her tail, which was wrapped around a tense thigh, was tantalizingly close to those spread open and glistening lips. A lustfully wicked smile curved her lips as a naughty, naughty idea occurred to her._

"**Come here, Pet."**_ Lillith commanded, tugging firmly on her hair to gain her attention. The girl was wonderfully focused on her duties._

_Sera crawled up her body, licking Lillith's juices from her lips. Lillith positioned her so that the Na'Gash's sex rested just above her own, then pulled her down so that their bodies were flush against each other. She kissed Sera deeply as she maneuvered her tail so that it rubbed against her own sex, and the tip teased at her Pet's. Sera's entire body jerked at the sensation, and Lillith teased at her until her hips were rotating in tantalizing circles and she was mewling in need._

_As Lillith began to penetrate her Pet, Buffy recalled her own 'first time', and forcibly wrestled at least partial control to rein in Lillith's enthusiasm. No need to cause her more pain than necessary. The Na'Gash did not have hymens like humans did, but the tail was a tad thick, and Sera was oh, so deliciously tight around it. Buffy couldn't help her own moan, even though it was only in their head since Lillith was in control, as Sera's inner muscles clamped down as she unexpectedly climaxed hard. She might not be actively in control, but she could still feel every little flex and flutter._

**'Did I mention that the walls of their sex were extremely sensitive?' **_Lillith purred to her host in satisfaction. Both of their reactions far exceeded her expectations. _**'Think g-spot sensitive.'**

_'Oh, God.' Buffy whimpered as Lillith pushed harder and flexed. Sera came again with a scream._

_**- End Flashback -**_

- - - BtVS - - AU - - BtVS - - -

"Yo, Red, what's the what?" Faith asked, dropping into a seat next to her at the Bronze. Willow and Xander had decided not to join her on patrol tonight, so this was the first time Faith had seen the redhead since the Scooby meeting this afternoon.

"Hi, Faith. How was patrol?"

"Boring." Faith grouched. "Just a couple of newbies right out of the ground. It's fuckin' dead out there."

"Isn't that a 'yay'?" Willow asked, slightly confused.

"For you, maybe, but I've got all this extra juice and nothing to let it out on."

"So, let's dance, and I'll squeeze you good." A low voice whispered in her ear.

Grinning, Faith jumped out of her seat and grabbed him into a bear hug before anyone knew what was going on. "Jackie, what are you doin' here, man? I thought you were in some other country."

"Stopped by to see how you were doing." The tall, dark haired man said, sliding into a seat next to the brunette. "Heard through the grapevine that you were headed here. What's up with the small town, Boston? Doesn't look like your scene. Who's the girl? You playing that side of the fence these days?"

"You know me, prejudice ain't my strong suit, but not this one. She's actually a friend. Red, this is Jackie, a buddy from another life. Jackie, this is Red. How long are you here for?"

"Just tonight. Meeting the gang in San Fran tomorrow, but I had to find out if the rumors were true. You're actually staying in one place."

"Yeah. Met Red and her friends about to get snacked on. Apparently, this place is bad news from the dirt up. The other slayer's mom is giving me a place to stay. She's cool. Kinda reminds me of Diana."

"Yeah, she rocked." Jackie said. "I hope you kill that son of a bitch that got her one day. Anyway, let's dance, and we'll go back to my hotel and catch up before I gotta jet. Sound good?"

"Yeah, sounds real good." Faith grinned. "Catch ya later, Red."

Willow waved weakly, still a little surprised. This had been the first time Faith's past had come to Sunnydale. Even after she'd moved in with Joyce, she didn't talk about her life much. It had taken her this long to tell them that her first Watcher had been killed by a powerful vampire and she had been on the run ever since. She had been a little more open since she'd moved in with Joyce, but still hung out at all hours and Willow knew that she tended to sleep around. Despite ignoring the demon issue, Sunnydale was still a small town, and gossip like that still swept through like a wildfire. Joyce had demanded that if Faith was going to sleep with strangers, then she absolutely _had_ to use protection and be back in the house by morning and ready for school. Willow sighed, a little bored and lonely. She knew that Xander was somewhere nearby with Cordy, but with Faith having a friend of her own, she felt like the fifth wheel. Sending a text message to Cordy, who would in turn tell Xander, Willow interrupted Faith's fun long enough to let her know that she was leaving. Making sure her holy water, cross and stake were in easy reach, she left the club but, instead of going home, she headed for Buffy's house, a little concerned since she hadn't seen her friend since the day before.


	10. Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

**'The young mage has passed through the wards.'** Lillith informed a preoccupied Buffy.

_'That's nice.'_ Buffy answered absently, not really paying attention as she continued to tease Sera's breasts with her tongue and teeth. She had one arm wrapped around the girl's waist as she thrust into Sera with her other hand. They had returned to the mansion a few hours ago, and both Buffy and Lillith had indulged themselves in their new Pet's body. She may not have known her way around a female's body, but she had learned quickly with Lillith's instructions and Sera's vocal encouragements. Her hunger had been relentless, and it took her a while to realize that part of it was from Lillith herself. Hedonistic didn't really describe Lillith's appetites accurately. Insatiable barely described it. However, she also recognized that some of it was her own sex drive. After all, she _had_ been celibate for three hundred years. Sex starved didn't even _begin_ to cover it.

Buffy pulled back to look at her lover squirming on her lap in sexual frustration, smiling wickedly. Sera's head was thrown back, her eyes were closed and her mouth was open to accommodate the harsh panting. She probably would have collapsed backwards if her hands weren't bound to the headboard. The dark spots stood out beautifully against her flushed skin, and Buffy bent down to run her rough tongue over the ones on her neck as she used her blunted more human-like nails to scrape the inner walls of her sex, making the young Na'Gash shudder through yet another climax.

"Mistress, please." Sera begged. "Rest."

Lillith, who had partial control and was eager to continue, snaked their tail up the girl's trembling leg, but Buffy stopped her. _'Let her rest. We've ridden her hard today and last night.'_ She released Sera and tucked her into the bed and under the covers. "Sleep, Pet."

**'Then at least let's have a taste of the young mage.'** Lillith demanded as they sensed the redhead enter the house. **'Kiss her like I know you want to.'**

Buffy had given both Willow and her mother keys and their own personal access codes to the house. She had told Willow that she was welcome here whenever she wished, although she had told her mother to call first, unless it was an emergency. Of the group, they were the most important to her and she wanted to be sure that they had a secure sanctuary should it ever be needed. No creature or demon could break through her wards, and even most humans instinctively gave her lair a wide berth. Lillith bombarded Buffy's already sex-drugged mind with conjured images of Willow in Sera's place, head thrown back and body flushed with need. Buffy began to pant with lust as she closed her eyes, trying to regain control.

"Buffy, are you here?" Willow's voice rang out.

Awakened to the possibilities of the fun she could have with her best friend made it harder to resist the temptations. Her mind clouded with the increasingly enticing scenarios, Buffy forgot to put on a robe before she gravitated towards that voice. She also forgot to shift back into her human form. Despite the space between them, Buffy caught the scent of the jasmine body wash mixed with her own unique scent. She could also feel her hunger stir as she sensed the pure, untapped power in her friend, which just drew her closer to that line she was trying desperately not to cross.

**'We won't touch her power.'** Lillith cajoled relentlessly. **'That little human is so full of untapped passion that I can almost taste it on our tongue. **_**That**_** is what I want. Kissing is something that I have been greatly enjoying. It's an act that I would have never come up with myself. I assure you, I have no wish to harm her in any way.'**

Hidden in the shadows of the hall, she watched for a moment as Willow puttered around the now stocked kitchen, fixing herself a sandwich. Although Buffy made absolutely no sound, after a moment, the redhead froze with an almost animal instinct of being stalked. She turned around warily, but saw nothing. "Buffy?"

Buffy tilted her head in contemplation. She wanted to kiss Willow. She had wanted to since the day she'd met her, so adorably cute despite being so painfully shy. Suddenly, she wondered exactly why she was resisting the idea so hard, when she truly wanted it just as much as Lillith did. The Old One prudently kept her silence, and let her host convince herself. Then, between one breath and the next, Buffy was standing in front of the redhead, caging her between her arms against the counter-top and staring at her intently. Willow gasped at her first view of Buffy's shifted form. Slitted amber eyes dropped to her lips for a heated moment before looked back up. Leaning in slowly, giving her ample time to move away, Buffy's tongue flicked out to taste her lips. Willow's eyes opened wide as she inhaled, but before she could ask the obvious question, Buffy's mouth settled over hers and her tongue swept in for a more thorough taste, in a kiss so overwhelming that the redhead nearly collapsed at her friend's feet as her knees suddenly turned to water. Buffy kissed her voraciously, devouring her until Willow was whimpering with her arousal and lightheaded from the lack of air.

Finally, Buffy broke the kiss and stepped away, licking her lips as she stared thoughtfully at her friend, who was leaning heavily against the counter-top to stay on her feet. "She was right. You do taste delicious."

Catching a glimpse of her form in the stainless steel refrigerator, she shifted to her human, although naked, form and turned her attention back to her stunned best friend. Her sex twitched as the scent of the redhead's arousal reached her and she took another step back. "When you're steady on your feet again, I've got someone I'd like for you to meet."

Willow stared after her in shock. It had been Oz that had made her aware of the crush she'd had on her best friend. She had been devastated when Xander told them what had happened, and it had affected her relationship with her boyfriend. He had dropped the bomb on her when they'd broken up, right before the Dingoes had left to go on tour, admitting to each other that they were better off as friends, and he had shocked her by saying that he had known it was coming considering how she'd felt about the Slayer.

_"I don't like girls like that, Oz!" Willow had denied._

_Oz had shrugged. "Maybe not, but you liked Buffy like that."_

Willow hadn't known how to respond to that, so she'd just nodded dumbly as Oz hugged her goodbye. It hadn't mattered, though, since she'd never expected to see Buffy again. Even when Buffy returned, she still put her feelings aside, since all Buffy had ever talked about were boys in the past. So, needless to say, that kiss, followed by turning from demon to completely naked Buffy, left her completely stumped. Aroused as hell and proving Oz's deduction right, but still stumped.

"Buffy!" Willow shrieked, running after her. "You can't kiss me like that and just walk off!!"

She stopped abruptly, her jaw dropping in shock at the sight of the girl sleeping in Buffy's bed. Willow gaped in surprise as she recognized her from a few of her classes. Movement in the corner of her eye drew her attention to her friend, coming out of the closet tying the belt of a silk robe. Sitting on the bed, Buffy tangled her fingers in dark hair and the girl made a small sound as she shifted closer, but didn't wake up. "Her name is Sera. She is a Na'Gash demon. Apparently, the Na'Gash are pleasure demons, created to be servants to my demon. We sort of 'recognized' each other when I saved her from a vamp the other day at the Bronze."

"Your demon had slaves?"

"Not slaves." Buffy shook her head quickly, then paused thoughtfully. "Well, she did have slaves, but the Na'Gash weren't slaves. They could choose not to serve if they wanted. Lillith didn't didn't really have much use for slaves, not even human ones. She was more into willing conquests."

"Lillith?" Willow asked, taking a seat at the foot of the bed.

"My demon. That's her name." Buffy stared at Willow for a long moment. "If I tell you the truth, will you promise to keep it to yourself for now? It will freak you out, but I swear, she won't hurt anyone. If they don't deserve it or provoke us, that is."

Willow thought about it. When Giles had realized how much time Buffy was willing to spend with Willow in comparison with everyone else, he had flat out asked for any information she could provide. Now, she had to decide if she was willing to keep Buffy's confidence, even if it could prove dangerous.

"I promise." She finally said.

Buffy smiled gratefully, and took a deep breath. She trusted Willow, but wasn't foolish enough not to worry that her trust was misplaced. However, she needed to tell someone and, if nothing else, Willow could act as something of a backup to the conscience that she could barely hear and easily ignore. "Lillith is an Old One. She and her mate were two of the most powerful."

Willow's eyes opened almost impossibly wide. She instantly recognized the implications of what that information could mean, and why Buffy wanted to keep it quiet for as long as possible.

"Are you sure?" She asked incredulously.

Buffy nodded. "She and her mate ruled an Empire that covered most of North America. They were betrayed by their allies. Lillith was supposed to die, which would have devastated her mate and make her easier to defeat, but her Na'Gash and some of her favored concubines, human and demon, fought and overwhelmed her attackers and got her out before the deed was done."

Before Willow could respond, the girl murmured in her sleep and shifted restlessly, kicking off the covers. Willow glanced down at her, and blinked in astonishment. "Buffy, are those spots?"


	11. Chapter Ten

A/N: I don't usually put stuff like this in the chapters, but I think this needs to be said. I've been getting grief about my Buffy/Lillith by a reviewer, and so I need to point out something. Buffy is NO LONGER the hero. She has just spent 300 years in nothing but survival mode, and she's merged with one of the strongest Old Ones there was. She is _not_ the Buffy that disappeared that night. She continues to protect humanity due to who she _was_, not who she _is_, but rest assured that if it comes down to her own survival or that of her loved ones versus the fate of humanity, humanity CAN and WILL be sacrificed without a moment's regret. Three centuries of non-stop fighting for her life has successfully weaned her off that self-sacrificing BS indoctrinated into her by Giles and by extension, the Watchers Council.

And now, back to the story.

Chapter Ten

Edward woke up to pain and disorientation. It took him several minutes to recognize the human shuddering next to him, watching him feed. Pulling his head away, he tried to speak, to demand where he was and what had happened to him, but all that came out were piteous moans. He realized with horror that his tongue was missing.

"Oh, hey, man, I am glad you woke up." Willy smiled weakly, leaning over him. "The guys have been demanding answers since we found you last night. You were completely drained, and your tongue was on the ground beside you. They wanna know what happened and who did this. This is one of the patrons from the blood den on the other side of town."

Edward took the wrist into his mouth once again, and continued to feed. His mind was fuzzy, and he knew that he needed to feed to clear it. There was something important he knew, but he had to be able to think clearly to remember what it was. At the moment, all he could remember was agonizing pain, cat-like amber eyes and a threat of torture and madness if he killed. He jerked away from the wrist in his mouth. A thought drifted through his mind just as he lost consciousness once again.

_'...spread the word, Sunnydale has been Claimed...'_

Willy sighed, massaging his temple wearily. He did _not_ like the way the wind was blowing these days. First the Scourge and the Slayer vanish, then his patrons come in with stories of an unknown power that they can't pinpoint. He liked to know what was going on in Sunnydale, if only to know who he should and shouldn't piss off. He knew that another Slayer had shown up in town, just like he knew that someone had bought the Crawford Street mansion that had been owned by Angelus. Word was that all of Angelus' money and property had recently been claimed by Buffy Summers, but he knew that was impossible. She was the Slayer that had disappeared the same time as the Scourge, and with the appearance of the new girl, she had to be dead. There had been a few rumors that there was more than one Slayer now, but that was impossible. A new Slayer was called when the old one died. That's the way it was since the beginning. What could change that?

- - - BtVS - - AU - - BtVS - - -

Mr. Trick glanced briefly at the 'Welcome to Sunnydale' sign as they passed it and sighed. He supposed that he should be eager to be this close to a Hellmouth, but to be honest, he saw no advantage in opening it. The way he saw it, it was better that humans didn't believe in vampires and demons. It made them much easier prey. Unfortunately, this is where his employer wanted to be. All because of that damn Slayer. Sighing again, he reached for the intercom.

"Yes, sir?" His driver answered.

"Take me to the hotel, then go to the real estate agency in the morning. I want to be in a proper house by tomorrow evening."

"Of course, sir."

Hanging up the phone, he pulled out a PDA to check the list of contacts that he had been given. After he got settled in the hotel, he would visit the bartender, Willy. Beyond that, the list was irritatingly short. "I hate small towns. Give me a nice metropolitan city any day."

At they drove down the main road, he glanced out of the window in time to catch a glimpse of a pretty female coming out of her house, staring at the car as it passed. "Well, small towns aren't all _that_ bad."

Callista watched the car until it turned the corner. She sensed the vampire inside. He had to be nearly a century old for her to sense him so clearly. New arrivals that old were either there for the Hellmouth, or to make preparations for the arrivals of someone or something worse. For now, she had other errands to run. She drove across town, checking on the Slayer on her way as her Mistress requested. Entering the seedier part of the town, she went directly to the demon bar and asked for the bartender.

"Yo, Willy!" One of the patrons yelled. "Somebody wants ta see ya!"

Willy came out of the back room from checking on the vampire once more, he leered to see the pretty thing standing at his bar, looking so out of place that he wondered how she even knew of his bar. "What can I do for you, sweetheart?"

"My mistress has taken over ownership of this 'establishment'." She handed him a folder. Opening it, he gasped and paled, drawing the attention of several other patrons. "She has, in fact, taken control of Sunnydale. A vampire was left here as a warning to those who would gainsay her. She has declared that there will be no unauthorized killing."

"Your Mistress?" A more human-like demon scoffed. "Who would that be? And why didn't 'she' come here herself?"

"You are not worthy to be in her presence." Her voice was filled with scorn. Some of the demons jumped to their feet, pissed, but Callista stood unafraid, reaching for the charm around her neck and pulling it off. Instantly, the demons felt the aura of the one that protected her, so intense that even Willy could feel it. A gurgling scream echoed from the back room as the wounded vampire recognized that power even in his unconscious state, and reacted instinctively. Many of the patrons knew Edward. Not necessarily powerful, he had used his cunning to survive, staying out of the path of more powerful Masters and Slayers. They had been waiting warily for information of what had left him in the state that he'd been found in. From the panicked sounds he was making, it seems to have found him, or at least, sent an envoy. Smiling sweetly, Callista turned her back to them and wrote her cellphone number on a napkin and handed it to the terrified bartender. "My Mistress wishes to be informed of any stranger that comes into town, no matter the reason. Disobedience will be punished. Severely. The vampire was merely to get your attention. The one she will use to prove her point will not be so fortunate."

She turned and left the roomful of stunned, open-mouthed demons and hybrids. She turned down a different street from her own house and made her way to Crawford Street. She believed in and trusted her Mistress, but she had cared for Sera since the girl was a small child, and Mala, her Matriarch and closest friend, had entrusted her only daughter's well being to her, as a result she felt the need to check on her. Becoming the Mistress' Pet was physically, emotionally and mentally demanding, and Sera had lived freely her entire life. She needed to be watched over and cared for even more so now, for her sake as well as the Mistress'. Mistress 'loved' her Pets, as much as she was capable of 'loving' anything that was not her mate, and if she irreparably damaged one unnecessarily or unintentionally, it would affect her adversely.

She felt the first of the wards several blocks before she was even in view of the house. It was merely a detection ward, and any not intimately attuned with the Mistress' power would not be able to sense it. The second ward was just as subtle, but much more powerful. It explained why she sensed no other demons in the nearby vicinity. They would shy away from the area without even realizing it. The last ward was much more defensive than the first two. She sensed enough power within it to kill. The Betrayal had left her Mistress very wary, and combined with the Slayer's knowledge of the majority of the demons in Sunnydale, Callista was surprised that she did not simply eliminate those she considered a threat and start from there. She suspected that it was the Slayer's influence, however unintentional. She could not imagine the effects of a merging a Pure Demon such as the Mistress with a human soul.

As she got out of her car, the door opened to reveal a slender redhead. "Hi, I'm Willow. Buffy asked me to let you in. She's in the den."

"Hello, I am Callista." The Na'Gash introduced herself. She followed the girl through the house. Buffy was sitting in a plush chair with Sera kneeling at her side. The girl was working on her classwork.

"How did it go, Calli?" Buffy asked.

"They have been appropriately warned." Callista reported. "The vampire was there, but from the sounds, I do not think he had recovered to give anyone your message. Therefore, I had to improvise and give the message myself, stating that you had left the vampire to get their attention."

Buffy thought about that for a moment, consulting Lillith, then nodded. "It probably works out better that way. If we are willing to do that just to garner attention, what would we do to punish transgressors?"

"That is what I implied."

"Good, and Willy?"

"He was sufficiently terrified. I do not believe that he will hesitate to make the call should it be necessary."

"Perfect." Buffy smiled. "Well, you've met Willow, and later you both will meet the rest of the Scoobies. Other than Willow, the only ones that you need to worry about is Faith, the Slayer, and my mother, whom you will meet tomorrow during dinner. Giles is a Watcher. He will have questions, about you and me. You may answer any question regarding the Na'Gash, but you will tell him nothing about me or Lillith. That includes your positions with me. All he needs to know is that you both work for me."

"Buffy, don't you think he deserves to know?" Willow asked as Callista nodded her understanding.

"No." Buffy answered firmly. "The only reason you know the truth is because you have free reign of the house and could walk in on us."

- - - BtVS - - AU - - BtVS - - -

Trick walked into the demon bar with a faint look of disgust. He hated being forced to frequent such low-class establishments, but this bartender was the best source in this small town. He knew where to get just about anything, and who to see about getting the rest.

"Whaddya have?"

"O Positive." Trick answered. "The fresher the better. I also need to talk to Willy."

Willy jerked slightly. "What...?" He cleared his throat nervously. "What do you want with Willy?"

"Information and the occasional odd job." Trick said carefully. "Payment is generous, and rejecting my offer is _not_ advisable."

He looked everywhere but at the dark-skinned vampire in front of him, desperately trying to think of a way out of this situation. "What kind of information are you looking for?"

"What happened to the House of Aurelius? Who is in charge now, and where can I find him?" Trick fired off. "My Master has business here, concerning the Slayer, and I don't want any local problems."

"Ah, well, the Aurelius clan is gone. The last Slayer took out Angelus just a few months ago, and disappeared at the same time." Willy admitted. He thought carefully about the next answer, realizing that he could tell the absolute truth without flinching. "I don't know who the new guy in charge is."

It was true. He knew that _someone_ had taken the reins, he just didn't know who it was.

Trick nodded thoughtfully. "All right then, what can you tell me about the current Slayer?"


	12. Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

Joyce watched the four women walk up Revello Drive, not recognizing the two with Willow and her daughter. Since the school library was unavailable on weekends, she had offered her home to the group for their 'Scooby meetings'. She stared at Buffy as she listened to something that Willow was saying with a slight curl of her lips rather than the bright smile that she remembered. The girl, no young woman, walking up the street barely resembled her daughter from just a few months ago. Whatever she had been through had done a thorough job of forcing her to grow up before she should have. Her stride was very controlled, almost predatory. She no longer exhibited the bouncy exuberance that she once had, and that made Joyce sad.

She wondered what it would have been like if she had reacted differently that night. It had only been after her alcohol-fueled anger had cooled, that she recalled her furious ultimatum. She had waited in Buffy's bedroom all night, forcing herself to stay awake, hoping and praying to every deity she could think of that her daughter would disobey her just one more time. It had almost broken her when Buffy didn't return. Forcing back her panic, she had gone to see Willow, knowing without a doubt that Buffy would have gone there first. Her heart felt like it had stopped beating in her chest when she saw the redhead's tear-streaked face. She could still hear the body-racking sobs as Willow told her everything. How her daughter's boyfriend turned into a psychotic monster and the reign of terror that he had put them all through, even killing their teacher. That it had been his 'childe' that had attacked them and killed their Jamaican friend that Joyce had met a few months before, but because the principal hated Buffy, he was using the attack to get rid of her. Willow told her about Angel's, or rather Angelus', plan to open the portal to hell in Sunnydale if Buffy had not stopped him, and about Xander watching the final fight and Buffy disappearing into the closing portal.

It had crushed her. The knowledge that her baby was gone, and that their last words had been her telling Buffy not to come back. That their last interaction had been violent and angry. She didn't remember much after that. The next clear recollection she'd had was almost a month later. Willow told her that after her initial breakdown, she had wandered back home, destroyed every bottle of alcohol in the house, and sobbed in Buffy's bed for days, clutching Mr. Gordo, her daughter's favorite stuffed animal. Willow, Xander and Giles had taken turns staying with her. When she finally pulled herself back together, she demanded to know everything. Everything that they had kept hidden about her daughter's life. She demanded to know how Giles, a man whom she had trusted because Buffy had respected him, in her own oblique way, could not only advocate, but encourage, her child to go out, night after night, to fight demons and monsters. It took some time to wear him down, but he finally told her. Everything. The true origin of the world, the making of the First Slayer, and the Organization that would have taken Buffy long ago if she had been tracked as a child. Joyce didn't speak to him for over two weeks. Then she was attacked by one of of her employees that had missed work for three days, and was saved by a wild, dark-haired girl who ran up and stabbed the man in the chest without even hesitating. She almost screamed, until the man disintegrated into dust.

She glanced over at Faith, who was lounging on the couch watching television. That had been her first introduction to the wild Slayer. Faith had been closed up in a shell so tight, it had taken almost a week to make even the smallest dent. But Joyce had persisted until Faith finally agreed to join her for a thank-you meal. The girl had definitely looked like she could use it. Buffy had also eaten very healthily, especially in the last few years, and Giles had admitted that being Called severely escalated a Slayer's metabolism. After introducing her to Giles, she continued to talk Faith into coming over for dinner, until she discovered where Faith had been living. She had almost driven the girl away, demanding that she move out of that dump of a motel and into the spare bedroom at her house. It had taken some fast talking and serious cajoling, but she'd done it. Now, she was trying to get Faith to go back to school.

"Yo, Mrs. S, you okay?" Faith's voice interrupted her thoughts. She blinked as the leather-clad form breezed past her, and with a start, she heard the knocking at the door.

"Wassup, Red." Faith said, swinging open the doors. "Hey, B, who are your friends? And why do they feel sorta like you?"

"This is Sera and her guardian, Callista. They work for me, and I wanted you all to meet them." Buffy told her. "They feel like me because they bear my Mark."

"What are they?" Faith asked, stepping aside to let them in. Even though they were unfamiliar demons, she knew well enough that Buffy wouldn't bring danger to her mom's house.

"They are Na'Gash demons." Buffy unconsciously placed her hand at the small of Sera's back as they turned into the living room. "They're relatively peaceful until provoked. Their clan will be coming into Sunnydale soon, to work for me as well."

"Well, hello, I'm Joyce." She introduced herself. "Dinner will be ready in a few minutes. Would anyone like drinks?"

They all asked for water, and Buffy followed Joyce into the kitchen. "Did you think about what I asked you?"

"About the marks?" Joyce said. Buffy nodded. "I don't know, Buffy. Will I be infected with this demon like you are? I don't think I'd like that."

"It's not like that, mom." Buffy shook her head. "It won't affect you in any way. It will simply make it so that other demons can feel my power around you, like Faith felt it on Sera and Callista. Most demons will avoid any contact with you at all, and if one is brave enough to ignore it, I can remove you from danger if necessary."

"Will it hurt?"

"I don't know." Buffy admitted. "Your mark will be different than theirs. No one has ever complained."

**'Probably because they were servants or slaves and already accustomed to high levels of pain.'** Lillith said. Buffy could hear the smirk in her voice.

"I just don't know, honey. Let me think about it little more."

"All right, but I still intend to put up the wards." Buffy told her. "You won't feel them, but I'll make it so that Faith can pass through with no problems."

**'You know, we should just make her ours.'** Lillith said as Buffy and Joyce returned to the living room with the drinks. **'She could be our General. Her job would not change from what she does as a Slayer, to patrol and cull those who do not belong in our territory, and we would have others to administer our justice and punishments. As an incentive, you can offer her the use of the Na'Gash to satisfy her battle lust.'**

_"Battle lust?"_

**'I have seen your memories. I know that you have felt it. The need for food and sex after battling the demons. It is natural for warriors, but exceedingly so for you since your power comes from me. It astounds me how you were able to resist your needs for so long.'**

_"I wanted it to be special."_

**'And was it?'**

_"It was." _Buffy realized after a moment. This was the first time she had thought about that night in a long time and, with the fading of the mental and emotional scars, she could see it clearly for the beautiful night that it had truly been. _"It was everything that I'd imagined it would be. Angel was very gentle and very caring. It was the aftermath that made everything seem so wrong."_

**'Well, from the scents that constantly surround the girl, it does not seem as if she has the same desire.**'

Buffy had to admit that Lillith was right about that. Even now, she could smell fresh scents of alcohol, cigarette smoke and sex. Male and female_. 'Well, at least she had fun._'

Lillith's chuckles had the corners of Buffy's mouth curling up in an unconscious smirk. Buffy rejoined the conversation when Willow asked her question, and they all talked comfortably until Joyce declared dinner to be ready and everyone gathered at the table. As they ate, Joyce turned the conversation to more important things, like school and their futures. After learning that Sera was in some of Willow's classes, she immediately wanted to know how she could consider working full-time when her education was much more important.

"Her job is not all that time-consuming." Buffy assured her mother. "She's more of a personal assistant than anything else. I promise that it won't interfere with her schoolwork. Her mother already knows and has approved, and the rest of their clan are coming to Sunnydale to work for me as well."

As they were finishing with dinner, Buffy nodded to Callista, who disappeared into the living room and returned a moment later with a manila folder. She handed it to Buffy and took her seat once again. Willow, Faith and Joyce stared at them curiously. Even more so when Buffy turned around and handed the folder to her mother.

"What's this?" Joyce asked, opening it.

Buffy smirked, without answering, and a moment later, her mother's eyes got comically wide and her mouth dropped open in pure shock.

"Mrs. S.?" "Mrs. Summers?"

"I hope you enjoy it." Buffy said softly. Then she grunted when she found herself engulfed in a fierce hug.

"What is it, Buffy?" Willow asked, nearly bouncing in her seat in curiosity.

"It is the leases to this house and the art gallery." Callista answered her, since it seemed that her Mistress was otherwise occupied.

"No shit?" Faith gaped.

"Language, Faith." Joyce said, but the admonishment was ruined by the huge smile on her face. She began to read through the papers, only looking up when Callista left the room to answer her ringing cellphone.

~~~ BtVS ~~ AU ~~ BtVS ~~~

Willy tossed back the shot of his special blend, 120 proof, pure grain whiskey. It was the stuff that he kept for his 'truly honored' patrons, meaning his and his alone. He stared at the telephone as if it were a particularly vicious customer, maybe someone who he owed money to. He didn't want to make the call. Gods above and Demons below, he really, really didn't want to get involved in whatever was about to go down.

He tossed another shot, closing his eyes against the burn. He had always known which way the wind was blowing when it came to the local powerhouses. Even buried, the Master had been the undisputed 'Man In Charge', and nothing happened without his knowledge. There was a slight vacuum after he was destroyed by the Slayer, which had been temporarily filled by the mysterious Anointed One. After that, had come the vampire Spike and his crazy girlfriend, Drusilla. During all of it, Angel had been in the shadows. Then, suddenly, they were ALL gone. Angel, who had suddenly turned into a very dangerous, psychotic Angelus, had disappeared with the Slayer, and rumor had it that Spike and his batty girlfriend had been seen driving out of town not long before that.

Now, there's this new power on the block, that has him trapped in a corner. He usually liked to stay out of the power plays, garnering his 'snitch' title honestly by being willing to give up information to anyone, if the incentive was right. Most simply paid him, but some, particularly the Slayers, would rather beat it out of him. Taking a deep breath, he finally picked up the phone, pulled the napkin out of his pocket and dialed the number quickly before he changed his mind and ran out of town.

"Yes." Callista answered.

"Um, if you're busy, I can call back later." He tried. He could hear other voices in the background.

"It's fine." Willy's heart sank. He imagined that he could hear the smirk in her voice. "You have information?"

Willy took a deep breath before answering. "A vamp named Trick was in here, looking for info on the Aurelius clan, the Slayer, and he wanted to know who was in charge."

"Is he trying to make his mark, or has he come ahead of someone else?"

"He said that his boss is coming into town to take care of business with the Slayer."

"What did you tell him?"

"That I didn't know who, if anyone, is in charge, since I don't know, and I told him everything that I knew about the Slayer. I'll admit that I don't know much, though."

"Tell me everything." Callista ordered.


	13. Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

Later that night, Buffy sat on her balcony as she considered the information from Willy. She had listened to the first few minutes of the conversation between Callista and the bartender, to determine if the situation needed her immediate attention, then returned her attention to her family when she had the gist of it, and let Calli do her job. She trusted Calli's suspicions that the vampire who had visited the bartender was most likely the same one that she had sensed earlier that afternoon, and for him to be arriving in advance of the one that he called Master meant that a vampire or demon of somewhat significant power would soon be arriving behind him. Although she doubted that this being would be a match to her own power, she was not foolish enough not to consider it a threat.

And, while Lillith hadn't been as infatuated with war tactics as her mate, she had participated and planned enough to know that destroying someone of significance so soon after staking her claim on her new territory would be an effective statement against any who considered challenging that claim.

"Mistress?" Sera joined her, sleepily rubbing her eyes as she knelt.

"Just thinking." Buffy answered the unspoken question.

**'Think later.'** Lillith suggested. **'The problem will still be there tomorrow. Right now, we have a delicious Pet kneeling naked at our feet. We have more important concerns than the half-breeds.'**

_'Lil, this vamp is coming specifically for the Slayer.'_ Buffy argued. _'Either there's history there, or we've got a Slayer-hunter like Spike.'_

**'We can ask the girl tomorrow.'** Lillith declared. **'Like I said, we have better things to do right now. Callista just passed through the last of the wards, and you did want to experience them both together.'**

Buffy considered that and decided that she was right. Tomorrow was soon enough. Hell, the vamp's master hadn't even gotten here yet. Smiling wickedly, she pulled Sera up to straddle her lap and sent out a summons to the elder Na'Gash. She kissed her Pet, slowly and thoroughly, and when she pulled away, the young demon was flushed and her spots were beginning to appear.

"Have I mentioned how much I love these, Pet?" Buffy murmured, running her fingers over the conveniently sensitive markings.

"N-no, Mistress." Sera gasped.

"Well, I do." Buffy grinned. She leaned forward to lick one, loving the sounds her lover made in response. "Are you and Calli related by blood?"

The demon shook her head.

"Hmm, goood." Buffy purred, standing suddenly. Sera wrapped her legs around a slim waist as her lips were taken once more in a voracious kiss. She felt Lillith take partial control of their actions, digging her blunt nails in the spots along the girl's inner thighs, and reveling in the whimper of pleasure/pain she received in response, as she walked them back to the bed, pausing only long enough to pull a pair of cuffs from the 'toy' drawer.

Smiling with devilish anticipation, Buffy laid Sera out on the bed, reaching up to thread the cuffs through a convenient rung in the headboard and shackled her. The rung rotated so that the one shackled could be flipped over without being released. Spreading Sera's legs, she dragged the rough surface of her tongue up the slick, pouty lips of her sex. Her Pet's whimpers and cries were like music to her ears as she devoured her without pause, keeping her on the edge of climax as she felt Callista enter the house and make her way to her bedroom.

Callista stood in the doorway watching her Mistress and her best friend's daughter. Where before she had been concerned over the merging between her Mistress and her host, now she could see that it was benefiting to them all. Lillith's lust for pleasure had not diminished at all, but her lust for pain, which had often fell to her Pets and Concubines as well as her enemies, was tempered by Buffy's natural compassion and protectiveness. As long as her lover was enjoying the pain that Lillith dished out, Buffy had no problems, but anything beyond that, Buffy redirected to more 'worthy' victims.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she suddenly found herself staring into mischievous green eyes. Before she could react, Buffy grasped her by the waist and pulled their bodies together, kissing and nipping at her darkening spots playfully. "You are always watching. I think it's time that you joined us, don't you?"

Callista's breath caught as her hand automatically cupped the back of her Mistress' head as Buffy tongued the spot at the base of her neck. Genetic memory was an interesting thing. She _knew_ that her Mistress' original form was much, much larger, and not humanoid in shape, but she had to admit, that she appreciated this form immensely. She _had_ watched her with Sera on more than one occasion. It was customary, in case the Mistress' play became too rough and the Pet needed to be cared for immediately afterwards, although she did not believe there was much danger of that happened very often, but she knew that her Mistress enjoyed being watched. She was also able to take care of her own needs as she watched them since, until she was given permission, she could not seek out other partners.

Buffy inhaled, drawing the scent of their combined arousal deep into her lungs, as idea after idea flitted through her mind. She had not only become accustomed to, but had actually grown to enjoy Lillith's uninhibited and kinky nature when it came to sex. She continued to tease at those delightful spots as she undressed the demon and coaxed her to the bed, positioning her until Callista was kneeling over Sera with her hands on either side of the head of the younger Na'Gash.

"Be still, Pet." Buffy commanded. Oh yeah, she was really getting into this 'Pet' thing. "Open your eyes and see what I have for you."

Sera forced her body still, even though she was practically vibrating with need. She opened her eyes to see her Guardian above her, bare and open and highly aroused. Even though Callista's knees were settled on the outside of Sera's thighs, Buffy knelt between them, keeping them conveniently spread. Sera watched Callista shudder as Buffy ran her tongue up the path of spot over her spine to suck hungrily on the back of her neck. Her hands came around to cup and fondle her breasts as she settled her body flush against the kneeling woman.

Sera panted harder as she saw Buffy shift slightly over her guardian's shoulder and watched her tail snake up between Callista's spread thighs. She knew well how that tail felt. She saw the thick tip press into Callista's sex and, even as Callista's body reacted to the sudden penetration, Buffy began a hard pounding rhythm that caused the Na'Gash to cry out as her head fell forward and her suddenly watery limbs trembled with the strain of holding herself up. Buffy brought Callista to climax once, then twice, and still she managed to hold herself up. Even Lillith was impressed.

"Very good, Calli, but just look at my poor neglected little Pet. She is so desperate to come that I can taste it on the air." Buffy said softly, pressing her aching sex into Callista's ass. "It makes me so wet to see her so hungry. I can keep her like this _for hours_ just listening to those sexy little whimpers. The more intense her need becomes, the more delicious her scent grows. Do you suppose that is why Lillith always kept her Pets naked and desperate?"

"I-I-I do n-not know, M-Mistress." Callista answered haltingly, gasping as the tail was pulled out of her, leaving her feeling achingly empty. She heard a little mewl from the girl beneath her and cracked open her eyes to see Sera licking her juices from the length of their Mistress' flesh. Sera's entire body was flushed and her spots were so dark that she knew it wouldn't take much to push the girl over the edge. She was feeling that way herself, as Buffy continued to tease at the spots along her back and her body instinctively clamped down in vain, searching for the thickness that had been taken from her. Looking down between her body and Sera's, she could see where her juices had dripped onto the younger girl and her mouth suddenly watered with the need to lick her clean.

"I think it is." Buffy said conversationally. "I have seen some of her memories, you know. I have seen what she has done to her Pets and her Concubines. Both for pleasure and pain." When Buffy said 'pleasure', she gently pinched Callista's clit, making her hips buck helplessly, but when she said 'pain', she raked her suddenly clawed fingers down the demon's sensitive inner thighs in shallow slashes that hurt like a bitch, but bled very little. With a strangled scream, Callista exploded once again.

Buffy quickly ducked down to run her tongue over the scratch marks, tasting Calli's sweet juices mixed with her pure, powerful blood. The Na'Gash were one of the last few pure-breed demons that still walked the Earth, escaping persecution because of their human looks and characteristics. She loved the rush of power she felt when it came to these two. As the days went by, she felt less and less like the old Buffy. She still felt things like guilt and remorse, but fewer and fewer things triggered it as of late. For instance, she knew that her old self would _never_ have been comfortable having this much power over another, sexual or otherwise. She never would have considered having servants, nor would she have ever had the nerve to do what she had done to that vampire. Her Pet's whimpering refocused her attention. Now was not the time for self-reflection.

**'You pick the oddest moments to have such useless thoughts.' **Lillith complained.

_'Bite me.'_ Buffy responded.

She turned her attention back to her lovely playmates. She inhaled, taking their scents deep into her lungs. She hadn't been exaggerating in what she had said about their scents. She love the way their scents continued to deepen and change the more aroused they were, becoming so intense, she could almost taste it on her tongue. Regardless of Lillith's previous reasons, it was definitely why _she_ kept her Pet on the verge of cumming so long and so often.

"Sera, my Pet, would you like to cum?" Buffy asked. Sera's instinct was to wait for permission before climaxing, but Buffy liked to play with her until she couldn't hold it in any longer, not a punishable act in Buffy's book unless she specifically told the girl not to. She loved to watch her struggle to hold back.

"Yes, Mistress!" Sera cried. "Please!"

Buffy reached down and tweaked her nipple. Sera's body arched and she choked back a muted cry. She whispered in Callista's ear. "Taste her, Calli. Give my Pet what she needs."

~~~ BtVS ~~ AU ~~ BtVS ~~~

Some time later, Buffy covered her girls and walked back out onto the balcony. She sat back down to stare up at the stars, her thoughts returning to the problem she was contemplating before she had gotten distracted earlier.

_'Any ideas?'_

**'Oh, I have plenty of ideas.'** Lillith said salaciously.

_'I mean about the vamp and his 'Master'.'_ Buffy rolled her eyes. _'If we're going to do this, we need to do it right the first time.'_

**'If we are not going to back to bed, then we should pay a visit to the hybrid.'** Lillith said. **'Inform him of our rules, and let him know that the Slayer is off limits.'**

Buffy felt her lips curl into a smile that would have scared her family and friends. Her body shifted into full demon form and she spread her wings lazily. She launched herself into the air and turned in the direction of the newcomers. _'This time, it's my turn to have a little fun.'_


	14. Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

Buffy perched delicately on a fire rail as the dark-skinned vampire fed from one of the college students foolish enough to still be out after dark. She considered letting the idiot die, but the faint remnant of her conscience railed against such a senseless death, so she sent out a very small tendril of power which distracted the vamp by slicing open his back. Deeply. With an agonized howl, Trick wrenched away from his victim, spinning around in fury and pain, looking for his attacker. The coed, displaying an inkling of how he'd made it as far as college, took the opportunity to stumble off into the darkness. She wondered idly how far he'd get with his throat bleeding so freely.

"Who's there?" Trick snarled. "Show yourselves!"

"There are rules here now, vampire." Buffy projected her voice through the alley. She blended her body into the darkness, not ready for him to detect her yet. "Rules that we are sure were explained to you in great detail."

"That 'no killing' garbage?" Trick sneered. "No self-respecting Master Vampire would implement such an idiotic rule, much less enforce it. It's just some stupid trick thought up by the Slayer, and she'll be taken care of soon enough."

Moving so fast that he didn't even sense the shift in the wind, Buffy slammed him face-first into the brick wall. Before he could react, she pulled him back and slammed him again before she disappeared into the shadows once more. "Who said that the new Master was a vampire?"

Trick shook his head, trying to shake off the pain in his face, and tried to stand. He didn't know what was going on, but he suddenly had the impression that he'd misread the situation.

"Why are you here, and what do you want with the Slayer?" Buffy asked.

Finally giving up on his shaking legs, he slid down to sit against the wall. "My Master has unfinished business with the Slayer. As for whatever else he has planned, you'll have to ask him about it."

"Don't worry, I plan to." Buffy said. "You, on the other hand, have already been warned. Since this _is_ your first offense, and your prey did manage to walk away still breathing, I will let you go this time. However, I believe a more substantial reminder is in order."

Conjuring a wooden stake from thin air, she threw it at him, watching with an cruel smirk as it sunk almost completely into his breastbone.

"Should you feel the desire to feed of the people of Sunnydale again, I suggest you practice restraint and visit the whorehouses, or you will still be regretting it as you bring in the _next_ millennia screaming in agony."

**'That's it?'** Lillith questioned as Buffy left the vampire to his well-deserved pain. **'I thought for sure we'd get to try that other half-breed's idea.' **

_'If there's one thing I've learned from your memories, it's strategy.'_ Buffy told her as she sat back to wait when she saw him pull out his own cellphone. She listened as the vampire barely managed to call his valet before he passed out from the pain, then conjured her phone and placed a call of her own. _'Let's see how he reacts to this. We might still get the chance.' _

The human called Flick found his wounded Master with a stake buried so deep in his chest that it was almost invisible. Hefting the vampire over his shoulder, he carried Trick and pushed him into the back seat, but when he tried to turn around, he found himself pinned to the car.

"You serve the vampire." Buffy said curiously from her spot in the shadows. "Why?"

Flick didn't answer. He knew better than to speak to his Master's enemy. Luckily for him, Buffy felt no reason or true interest in pursuing the question. "I suppose it doesn't really matter. I have one last message for him, but he passed out before I could give it to him. Tell the vampire, and whomever _his_ Master is, that the Slayer is off limits."

Flick nodded once to acknowledge the message, then breathed a sigh of relief when the pressure eased. He straightened and looked around once, then quickly got into the car and drove straight to the house that he had rented per his Master's orders. He had just managed to get Trick into the Master bedroom that he had previously vamp-proofed, when there was a knock at the door.

Checking the peephole first, he opened the door slowly when he didn't see anyone. Opening the door cautiously to look outside, his eyes widened to see the delivery truck from the butcher shop pull off from the curb. There was a cooler sitting on the doorstep with a folded note taped on top.

'Remind him that there are to be no unauthorized killings in Sunnydale. You both live each night only as long as the rules are obeyed.'

Shivering in foreboding, he carried the cooler inside and closed the door firmly. On top of a house down the street, Buffy watched with a dark smile before extending her wings and taking off for home.

By sunset the next night, after draining the entire cooler, Trick was fully healed and furious. He stormed into Willy's bar and vamped out as he yanked the little man over the countertop. "This new Master, where is he?"

"I don't know!" Willy squealed, terrified. The few times that he had been in Sunnydale, Trick had always been a calm and collected vampire. "A representative was sent. I swear!"

"Who?!?"

"That would be me." A soft voice said from behind him. He spun around, pulling the terrified bartender completely over the bar as he still dangled from his fists, to see the woman that he had noticed when he'd first arrived in town leaning against the now open door with an amused look in her eye. "My Mistress knew that you would return here for information, vampire."

Dropping Willy like a sack of bad potatoes, Trick stormed over to the smirking woman. "You're right cocky, aren't you? You really think I'm not the type to kill the messenger?"

Callista didn't so much as twitch. "That would not be wise. You have already brought yourself to my Mistress' attention, and if you value what life you have, you will not do it again."

Trick hesitated, but his rage forced him forward. Just as he reached out to grab the woman, something flashed and he was thrown clear across the room. He barely heard the scramble of chairs and feet and doors as he tried to regain his equilibrium. When his vision finally cleared, the first thing he noticed was that the bar's patrons were either gone, edging towards the back room door or pressed against the wall. Still woozy from his impact with the wall, it took a moment for his mind to reconnect with his body, but as soon as he did, he realized immediately that he couldn't move.

**"You half-breeds do not listen very well, do you?"** Lillith snarled. Buffy had taken the back seat to let the Old One handle the situation as she saw fit. The amber fire of her glare swept around the room, and all the gathered demons instinctively lowered their heads in submission. Finally, she returned her attention to the dark-skinned vampire who was staring at her with wide eyes and a slack jaw. **"And you! You **_**dare**_** raise a hand to my servant?!?"**

The pure fury on her face as she approached him broke Trick out of his shock, and he tried with everything he had to make his body move, but he was held firmly in place. Her cloak fluttered open as she reached for him, and he found himself staring at a set of large, darkly beautiful wings, just before clawed fingers sank painfully in his throat and he was hauled up.

**"Your kind likes to torture,**" She looked him over speculatively, then her mouth curled into a cruel sneer**. "Let us see how you appreciate it when it happens to you."**

Before anyone could react, all three of them were gone. The demons left behind looked at each other until one finally voiced what they were all thinking. "We are _so_ fucked."

~~~ BtVS ~~ AU ~~ BtVS ~~~

_'Lil, before you get carried way, please remember that he's got answers that we need._' Buffy's voice broke through her fury. _'That means that he needs to be conscious for a little while at least.'_

Lillith snarled, still highly pissed that this half-breed _dared_ to threaten her creature. Lillith had taken them to one of the abandoned churches and was holding the vampire in front of the large cross that loomed behind the stage, close enough for him to feel the effects without actually touching it. The dark skinned vampire, stripped down to only his boxer briefs, struggled uselessly against the power that held him in place. The nearness of the holy object felt like he was standing directly in front of a raging inferno. His face was vamped out and contorted in agony.

_'C'mon, Lil. We gotta find out exactly what we need to expect.'_ Buffy reasoned.

Finally, Lillith pulled him away. Trick's head fell forward in relief.

**"You will answer my questions, half-breed,"** Lillith growled. **"Or I **_**will**_** hang you from that cross by your spine."**

She pulled him close to where she was standing on the upper balcony until she could wrap her tail around his throat. Even though he did not breath, his hands instinctively gripped the tail as he tried to pull himself free. She held him easily as her wings fanned out to lower them to the ground below. **"Why is your Master after the Slayer?"**

Trick merely sneered at her. Smiling cruelly, Lillith conjured a dagger into her hand and dipped it into the bowl on the statue. Despite the dilapidated state of the building, Trick could smell that the water was fresh.

**"My servant was kind enough to fill this bowl with blessed water from one of the other church repositories."** Lillith told him in a conversational voice.

Before the impact of that statement could register into Trick's mind, she lashed out and sliced two thin gashes across his chest, in the shape of a cross. He cried out as the holy water touched his flesh, then screamed in agony as she dipped her hand into the water and poured it over the cut, so that it seeped directly into the wound. Agony unlike anything he'd ever experienced before exploded through his body. **"Why is your Master after the Slayer?"**

"I don't know!" He finally screamed. Master or not, Kakistos wasn't his Sire, and he wasn't going to suffer needlessly for him. "He makes a hobby out of hunting Slayers, and I think this one gave him the scar on his face. I just work for him!"

_'Works for him?' _Buffy said, astonished. _'For money?'_

Lillith pulled the concept from Buffy's memories. She turned speculative eyes on the vamp. **"So, your Master pays for your services. There is no Sire-bond which binds you?"**

_'Lil, what are you thinking?'_

**'If this half-breed's loyalty can be lured, then why should we not use that?'** Lillith said to Buffy.

_'Why would we want to do that?'_

**'It is always good to know what the enemy is doing.'**Lillith told her. **'Although I am sure that majority of the 'Big Bads', as you have named them, will come here because of the Hellmouth, there are others that can possibly do just as much damage from elsewhere. It is better to know what is going on outside of the borders of our small territory.'**

Buffy thought about that, and realized that she had a point. It wasn't something she had ever thought of before. She had never wondered what happened in the rest of the world as she defended the Hellmouth. Who took care of innocent people outside of Sunnydale. The vamps and demons were obviously coming from somewhere. She would have to ask Giles.

_'I guess that's something to think about.'_ Buffy admitted. _'But not now.'_

**'Oh no.'** Lillith agreed. **'There are still more questions and the little matter of punishment to deal with. Perhaps after all is settled.'**


	15. Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

Buffy strolled into Sunnydale High School the next afternoon and headed straight for the library, her feet moving along the familiar path without thought. Just as she turned the last corner, a much hated voice from the past rang out through the halls.

"What are you doing roaming the halls?" Snyder snapped. "What class are you supposed to be in?"

Buffy froze long enough to wrestle her bone deep loathing of the little troll back under control before she turned to face him. He stepped back as he was suddenly face to face with the dangerous young woman that he'd previously accused of assault and attempted murder and expelled some months back. He'd known full well that she would never have hurt her friends, but that hadn't been the point. He had wanted her gone, and that had been an opportunity that he hadn't been about to walk away from. He hadn't counted on the mother suddenly standing up and taking notice, along with that irritating librarian, forcing him to rescind the expulsion after the charges were dropped. When she didn't come back at the beginning of the school term, he had hoped that he'd seen the last of her, although the female that seemed to have replaced her in the library group was hardly any better.

"Hello, Snyder." Buffy said in a flat voice. "I'm just going to the library to wait for the others. I know that the last bell is about to ring. You don't have a problem with that," she took a step closer, menace rolling off her in waves, "do you?"

He took a few steps back as fear trickled icily down his spine. "Ahh, no, as long as you do not disrupt the classes."

"Thanks." She gave him a cold smile as she turned and continued on her way.

Snyder stared at Buffy Summers until she disappeared through the double doors. Releasing the breath that he had been unintentionally holding, he hurried back to his office. He needed to speak to the Mayor.

Buffy made it inside the library just as the bell rang, and was lounging at the research table when the other Scoobies arrived.

"Hey, Buffy." Willow grinned as she walked in with Sera, who had been quickly accepted by the group. Xander, true to form, was salivating over the beautiful girl, and his eyes glazed over as he watched her go straight to Buffy's side to be kissed before moving to her side, until Cordy reached over and slapped him back to focus. Buffy pat the seat of the chair next to her for Sera to sit in before her Pet knelt at her feet.

A few minutes later, Giles joined them, having ventured into the teacher's lounge to refill his teapot. "Ah, good afternoon, Buffy."

"Hello, Giles." Buffy smiled at him, then turned to Faith, who had just walked into the room. "I need to talk to you."

"What's up?" She asked as she dropped into a seat across from the blonde.

"A vamp is coming to Sunnydale, searching for the Slayer."

"What's so odd about that?" Xander asked.

"The vamp that I questioned said that his Master is looking specifically for a dark-haired Slayer that may or may not have scarred him across the face."

Faith paled alarmingly and jackknifed into a more alert position. Her fear was more than obvious.

"Faith?" Giles' voice was filled with concern.

It was like he had punched the big red panic button. She jumped to her feet and tried to run out of the room, but bounced off of an invisible barrier at the library door. "What the fuck! Let me outta here!"

"Faith, he will not touch a hair on your head, I promise you." Buffy said, moving to her as she pounded uselessly against the barrier. Her fear was so intense that it invoked memories of Lillith's own torture games from the past. She could hear Lillith nearly purring in reaction, and couldn't stop her body from reacting. After all, it was Lillith's body, too. _'Damn it, Lil, not right now.'_

"Faith, calm down." She commanded, her power reaching out to connect with the Slayer inside the younger girl and forcing her submission. Panting harshly, she fell tiredly to her knees. "Faith, you are my friend. No matter what happened between the two of you before, I _will not_ let this vampire hurt you any more. If you feel you need it, I will give you my protection in a blatant way that no one will be able to ignore it, but that will mean that you will be marked as my Warrior and you will serve me, not the Council. I will protect you regardless, but if you feel that you need it, I will do that for you."

She knew that she was revealing more than she should, but she also knew that she had to get through to Faith, or she would run and keep running until this vampire caught and killed her.

"H-his name is K-Kakistos." Faith finally whispered. Buffy ignored Giles' gasp of shock. "He's so o-old that he doesn't even have a human face any more and his skin is too tough for a regular stake." She took a deep breath, calming herself further. "He found us not long after I got activated. He tortured Diana for hours, right in front of me, and then he tore her apart. I went nuts and don't even remember what happened, but the next thing I know, I'm jumping the tracks outta Boston, covered in vamp dust and Diana's blood. A month later, he caught up with me again. There was a wicked looking scar across his eye that he said I did. I came here 'cause Diana always talked about you, B, and I knew that I needed help. If he's coming here, he'll torture and kill everyone that knows me, even Mrs. S."

"Don't worry about that." Buffy dismissed almost offhandedly. "I'm taking care of that. No one and nothing will _ever_ touch my mother." She stood. "Come with me. You need to tell me everything that you know about this vampire. I'll see you at the house later, Will."

Sera, who had been watching quietly with the others, quickly gathered her things and followed her Mistress and the Slayer. She didn't speak as they walked through the now-silent halls of the school. Just as they were almost out of the door, Buffy stopped and stared down the side hall, smirking when Snyder squeaked, startled that he had been noticed. It was obvious to him that Buffy Summers had merely gotten odder and more dangerous over the summer vacation.

Outside, Faith went straight for her bike. "I'll meet you at your place."

Buffy nodded. "You will feel the wards as you pass through them. Callista will let you in."

"You mother and the rest of the clan will arrive by the end of the week." Buffy told Sera as they crossed the parking lot to her car. She smiled as her Pet's face lit up with joy and she threw her arms around Buffy in an exuberant hug. Buffy kissed her quickly, then pushed her towards the car.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Buffy Summers." A voice called out from across the parking lot. Looking up, Buffy saw one of the football players on the other side of the fence. It was obviously a break in practice. "Never took you for a dyke. Guess that explains why you wouldn't go out with me."

Buffy stared at him for a moment, then allowed her face to shift quickly before smoothing out. She smirked wickedly as he scrambled back, falling on his ass, and stared at her with wide, frightened eyes. "No, I wouldn't go out with you because you're a chickenshit that screams like a girl and wets his pants when he feels a girl's teeth nibbling at his throat."

The other players burst into laughter and jeers. Buffy didn't mention that the girl in question had been a vampire about to rip his throat out after he'd gotta a little too grabby in the alley behind the Bronze, but that wasn't the point as she saw the fear in his eyes turn to humiliation. Satisfied, she got into the car and settled comfortably as Sera drove them home.

Buffy watched Sera as she drove. She had come to really care about the Na'Gash, allbeit, in a possessive, 'you-are-mine' kind of way. It wasn't like what she had felt for Angel, or what she felt for Willow, but it was enough that she suddenly felt the need to be assured that the young demon was truly happy with the situation she found herself in.

"Sera, are you happy being my, uh Lillith's, um _our_ Pet?" Buffy asked as Sera parked in the garage. "I know that it's probably instinct for you, but are you really, truly happy doing it?"

Sera turned to the blonde, clearly understanding that it was the Buffy-part of her Mistress that was asking. She smiled sweetly. "I am, Mistress. I would tell you if I was not. We know that to serve is our choice. We were the only Pets whom the Mistress gave the ability to choose."

'**I had plenty of slaves and mindless servants.'** Lillith told Buffy. **'It was refreshing in its own way to have those that wished to serve. It was power of a different sort. Even those who did not chose to satisfy my appetites, chose to serve in others ways.'**

"You know that you can go out with them if you want to, right?" Sera looked at her in surprise. "I heard them making plans to meet up at the Bronze, and you turning them down. After we're done here, I'm going to send Faith, if she's up for it. That vamp, Kakistos, isn't here yet, so there's no reason she can't allow herself some fun until he does get here."

Getting out of the car, Buffy waited until Sera was on her side before pulling the girl against her body and kissing her senseless. When she pulled away, she smiled to see the barely visible spots along her throat. "Did you notice the attraction between Calli and Faith the other night, Pet? I think it's time for our little voyeur to have a playmate of her own, don't you?"

Sera grinned and nodded. "She's been getting restless."

"I know. You guys have to tell me when you need something. Lillith doesn't really think of those kind of things, so she only recently remembered that you need permission before taking a bedmate after being bound to me."

"Yes, Mistress."

"Good, then. Let her know." Buffy licked at the path of spots, just to see her shiver. "Also let your mother know when she arrives, in case I forget about it."

"Y-yes, M-m-mistress."


	16. Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

"Okay, just so we're clear," Xander said after several silent moments. "None of _us_ know what just happened, right?"

Willow simply nodded, while Giles sat down in deep thought. Willow stayed quiet and focused on her schoolwork, trying to disappear into the pages without drawing attention. She, more than anyone, knew that Giles was putting it together. Enough clues were certainly being dropped, practically right in his lap. She really hoped he wouldn't...

"Willow, what can you tell me about Buffy?" Giles asked.

Willow inwardly cringed. "I can't really tell you anything, Giles." She admitted. "I've seen her shifted form a few times, but it's not like she does a whole lot of demon-y stuff around me."

Giles nodded. "Be that as it may, this is still Buffy that we are talking about. If she would have told anyone the complete truth, it would be you. You are also a great deal of time at her home, I understand?"

Willow nodded almost gloomily, not looking at either of them.

"Willow, do you know what type of demon Buffy has merged with?" Giles asked gently.

Willow nodded, her eyes filling with tears as she broke in before he could ask the damning question. "She did, but she made me swear not to tell anyone unless it, um, posed a threat. Which it doesn't!" She quickly added.

"What?!?" Xander exclaimed in shock. "Will?"

Willow flinched, but forced herself to look at the librarian. He was like a father to her, to all of them, and she hated that she had to disappoint him. "Don't ask me, Giles, please. She's my best friend, and she trusted me with this secret. She said that I could tell you if she becomes a danger to us. Can you honestly say that she has?"

Giles stared into her pleading, tear-filled eyes, and sighed. "No, I can not." He continued to ignore Xander as he sputtered incredulously. "She's been honest and forthright with all of her plans to take over Sunnydale, which, I hesitate to admit, will most likely work out for the better in the long run, and she's helped Faith both train and patrol."

"Willow!" Xander exploded. "Are you serious?!? You know what the demon is, and you're keeping it a secret. We've got to get it out of her, and you've been holding out?"

"Xander!" Willow yelled.

"No!" Xander yelled back. "Buffy, _our_ Buffy would never want that, that _thing_ to stay in her, not now that she's home. I don't know what it's done to her, but we've got to get it out of her before we lose her completely. She's becoming more and more bizarre. Shacking up with girls, taking over Sunnydale. I mean, come on! You've got to see it!!"

_Whap!_

Xander's head snapped back and he stared at his best friend in shock. She was shaking her hand, wincing at the sting. She really did just slap him. "Wills?"

"You shut up, Alexander Lavelle Harris!" Willow snapped. "You've said more than enough lately. Your lies got her kidnapped to a damn hell dimension, Xander! Now, because you don't like what she was forced to do to survive, you want to get rid of the only thing that kept her alive, that's _still_ keeping her alive?!? She's survived 300 years because of..." She caught herself just in time. She'd almost said Lillith's name. "Because of her demon. Do you honestly think she can go back to being just a normal human again?"

She looked like she was going to continue, but finally, she threw her books into her backpack and stormed out of the library. Giles looked at the pale, shaken boy, taking in the bright handprint on his cheek, and left him alone with a shake of his head. Maybe this would force him to see the shades of gray in the world, instead of just the black and white.

~~~ BtVS ~~ AU ~~ BtVS ~~~

Faith walked into the kitchen to an interesting, and extremely arousing, scene. She'd known that B was banging the new Scoob, but to see it was something else. Buffy had the girl pinned to the refrigerator with her hands over her head. Her shirt was open and the blonde was licking at interesting looking spots on her breasts, with her other hand down the front of her jeans.

"Yo, B," Faith swallowed, her eyes glazing over slightly. "Thought we came here to talk."

"We will, Faith." Buffy glanced over. Returning her attention to more important things, she pulled her hand out of Sera's pants and reached over to press a button on the fridge door. Catching a couple of ice cubes as they were ejected, she smiled wickedly at her Pet. Releasing a little power, she made it so that the cube would melt very, very slowly, regardless of the surrounding temperature. She relished the agonized whimper as she trailed the cube down a quivering abdomen, into her pants and between slick, swollen lips.

Faith gasped as the darkening spots suddenly become completely visible. Buffy purred in satisfaction and licked the spots on her arched throat. "Mistress, please!"

"No, not yet. You may cum only after the ice has melted completely." Buffy suddenly let her go. "Now go. Finish your classwork."

"God, B, that's just cruel." Faith smirked, watching as the girl stumbled past her.

Buffy turned amber eyes on her and Faith froze at the sheer power of that stare. She couldn't move as the smaller blonde prowled across the room until she was so close, air had to squeeze through. Buffy let the sheer intensity of her power smother the Slayer's cocky arrogance, then flicked her tongue over the brunette's lips and finally broke their locked gazes and circled her like prey.

"Be careful, Slayer. I play much harder than you do." Buffy reminded her softly. She could feel Lillith's irritation filtering through her as this insolent child's tone rubbed them both the wrong way. "I could make you cum, screaming in agony, and have you beg for more, and believe me, that would be just the beginning. Don't forget, that dark part of you that sends you out to play and fuck grew _to its origins_ in me."

Faith shuddered as a dark wave of power washed over her, barely managing not to fall to her knees. She let out a shaky breath when the shorter blonde finally stepped around her and left the room, releasing her. _Fuck,_ she thought, _I think I'm gonna have to start watching my mouth._

"Tell me everything you remember about your encounters with this Kakistos." Buffy called back.

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she grabbed a bottle of water and joined Buffy in the den. She told Buffy the entire story, from the first confrontation in Boston where she'd lost Diana, to their final fight in Texas, where she'd just barely managed to give him the slip. Through the story, her hands trembled and her voice shook through emotions suppressed for too long. When she was finished, Buffy sat back in her chair.

"Let me think on it." Buffy finally said. "Go with Calli. I'll patrol tonight. You're too shaky to do it, and you might get yourself killed. Calli, take care of her."

Faith wanted to argue, but found that she couldn't. She _was_ shaky, and going out like that _would_ likely get her killed. Plus, she figured that, after that little scene in the kitchen, she'd better not push. She let Callista lead her upstairs to one of the spare bedrooms. Flopping back on the bed, she laid spread-eagled and stared up at the ceiling, sighing heavily.

Callista sat next to her on the bed. "Are you all right, Slayer?"

"Yeah," Faith said. "Just a little tense."

"Perhaps you would like some help loosing up?" Callista said, her voice sultry with arousal, as she ran a finger over the exposed flesh of Faith's abdomen. She'd wanted to sample this wild child that felt very faintly like her Mistress since that night at dinner. Now that she had permission, she planned to take full advantage.

Faith's eyes shifted to the woman next to her, a slow smile curling her lips. Her ever-ready libido stood at immediate attention. Demon or not, Callista was one of the hottest women she'd ever met. She rose up, bracing her arms to support her, the motion causing her stomach muscles to become more pronounced, much to Callista's delight.

"So," Faith asked slowly, the invitation clear in her tone. "Do you have spots too?"

Callista moved to straddle her hips. She leaned down until her lips were almost touching the brunette's. "I guess you'll have to see for yourself."

Suddenly, Faith gripped her waist with both hands and flipped them over, her grin full and cocksure once more. "Don't mind if I do."

~~~ BtVS ~~ AU ~~ BtVS ~~~

Buffy smiled as she listened to the sounds above her head. She could also hear Sera's whimpering as she tried to concentrate on her work despite the ice lodged in her body. Finally, as the scent of the sex and her Pet's helpless arousal filled her nostrils, Buffy decided to go do something else. She had grabbed the coat and was about to leave when she felt Willow pass through the outer ward.

**'Now would be an ideal time to continue with the young mage.'** Lillith suggested silkily. Buffy, the Old One had come to find out, had a very imaginative flare when it came to sexual games. **'Couldn't you just imagine doing to her what you just did to our pet?'**

Buffy's belly clenched as lust swamped her at the thought. She had been fighting with herself ever since that kiss, and she was sick of it. Right or wrong, she was going to make Willow's hers. She also suspected that Lillith wanted her as much as she did herself. _'If we do this, you have to promise me that we'll never hurt her more than she can take.'_

**'Of course not.'** Lillith assured her slyly. **'She will enjoy every bit of pain we create within her body. There may even come a time when she will relish in it.'**

Buffy froze. _'I don't want her to be one of those people who needs the pain, Lil.'_ She said firmly. _'If that's what you've got planned, then I'll stop this right here and now. I'll send her home and make sure she never comes near us again.'_

**'She does not have to be dependent on the pain to relish in it.'** Lillith told her. **'She will enjoy, perhaps even occasionally ask for it, but it can be balanced with your soft touches and gentle caresses. She will have what my concubines never had. An equal balance.'**

She was still considering it when she felt Willow pass through the last ward. She didn't even realize when the smile formed on her lips. Her physical change into her demon form was completely unconscious as thoughts of Willow in various positions of submission and pleasure filtered through her mind, distracting her from holding the image. She didn't usually keep it when in her home, but had done so for Faith's sake. By the time Willow was sliding her key into the front door, her arousal was at a fever pitch, and it took all of her control not to start the redhead's 'training' right there against the door.

Willow gasped and jumped back into the door she'd just locked when she turned to find Buffy standing right behind her, shifted and staring at her with a look similar to the one she had that day she kissed her in the kitchen. She swallowed. "B-Buffy?"


	17. Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

"I want you, Willow." Buffy said softly, taking a step forward. "I've wanted you for a long time." Another step. "Lillith wants you as well." A final step brought her close enough to feel the air brushing her face as the red-head began breathing really hard. "We want you together."

"B-B-Buffy?" Willow whispered, looking like a startled deer on the verge of flight.

"We were going to leave it alone, give you time to come to us at your own pace," Buffy's voice was still soft, but it turned deeper as Lillith also began to filter through, and the growing intensity held Willow in place. As did the fingers that were suddenly stroking her belly in a calming gesture. The feel of those claws, even through her clothes, made her shudder. **"But then we would feel your eyes as we played with our Pet, and the scent of your arousal would reach us as you watched her trying so desperately to restrain herself."** Her amber eyes darkened as the scent of Willow's sudden arousal filled her senses, and she leaned forward to taste the perspiration that gathered that the base of Willow's throat as the red-head's body temperature skyrocketed. **"We would hear your cries of pleasure, even muffled by your pillow, as you climaxed to the music of her screams."**

Willow gasped, unable to deny the truth. She thought that she'd been so careful when she found herself watching Buffy and Sera together whenever they 'played' outside the privacy of their bedroom. After that first time, when she'd seen Buffy's body arched and her head thrown back as the spotted demon working so diligently between her thighs, she'd been unable to help herself. She had also been masturbating at night to the fantasies of herself in Sera's place as the demon's cries rang through the halls.

"**It's a shame really."** Buffy said suddenly.

"W-What?" Willow took a deep breath to steady her nerves. "What's a shame?"

"**That your body couldn't contain our mate."** Buffy smiled. **"That would have been perfect. Unfortunately, the human body isn't strong enough. So we will have to settle for taking you as our Concubine."** Buffy finally looked her in the eyes. "**If you are willing, that is."**

What little breath Willow had managed to regain left her in such a rush that it left her lightheaded at the very idea. She had been learning about Lillith from Callista and Sera, and they had covered, extensively, the Old One's sexual proclivities and appetites. She also knew, in exquisite detail, just what was expected of a Concubine.

Buffy smiled at the glazed, unseeing look in her best friend's leaf green eyes. It was clearly apparent that she wouldn't have to explain much after all. She supposed that she should have considered that Willow's insatiable curiosity would make her seek out as much information about the Old One inhabiting her body, and what better resources that her own personal servants? Especially servants with genetic memory. It was only natural that they would expound on the areas of Lillith's service that they knew best.

**"Come back, little witch."** Buffy said gently. **"I want you here."**

Willow gasped as her nipple was firmly pinched and twisted in a way that sent sparks down her legs and back up into her groin. How had her shirt gotten opened?

"Ahh, there you are." Buffy purred, now back in her human form, and just as naked as she had been the last time. "I take it that you've been talking to Callista and Sera."

Blushing, Willow nodded. Her voice had completely deserted her and her heart was pounding furiously at the feel of Buffy's slender fingers playing teasingly with her right breast.

"And would you like that, my Willow?" Buffy's voice had gone husky, sinking into the red-head like a caress. "To be at my beck and call? To be mine to tease and torment and devour as I wish?"

Willow was panting harshly, practically hyperventilating, by now. With a wicked grin, Buffy leaned forward and bent her knees slightly so that she could slip a hand beneath Willow's skirt. The red-head could do nothing but tremble helplessly as teasing fingers drew slowly up the inside of her thigh, only to suddenly stop just shy of that ultimate goal. She very nearly cried when Buffy stepped away with one last kiss.

"Think about it." The blonde said as she turned and walked away, licking the evidence of Willow's arousal from her fingers.

Willow stood frozen in place, her body still on fire and her mind unable to process that Buffy had just left her like that. For an insane moment, she considered hunting her friend down and making her finish what she'd started, but then her brain kicked back into gear. She saw her do this type of thing to Sera all the time. If she accepted Buffy's offer to be a Concubine, which she suddenly wanted more than anything she'd ever wanted in her life, she would have to get used to torments like this. Taking a deep breath and steadying her shaky legs, she gathered up the stuff that she had dropped in her initial surprise and forced herself to walk to her room. She could do this.

From the shadows, Buffy watched with a smile, only half-listening to Lillith's words of approval.

'**She seems almost a natural.'** The Old One commented. **'Perhaps her training will not take as much time as usual.'**

~~~ BtVS ~~ AU ~~ BtVS ~~~

Flick swallowed another shot of his Master's best whiskey as he stared at the mutilated and broken body on the bed. He had never had any problems admitting when he was afraid, and right now he was scared shitless.

He had been doing nothing but drinking and nursing Master Trick for the last day and a half, ever since he found the vampire on his doorstep a mere hour from sunrise. A few hours later, a woman had arrived and set his Master up with an IV and several packets of blood that he had been told would help speed up his Master's recovery. She showed him how to switch the bags, and even now, he could see the burns fading slowly and the slash marks closing.

He had also been fielding Lord Kakistos' calls, telling him that his Master was out making arrangements, but he knew that the ruse wouldn't last long. Kakistos was not far, and it was his practice to send scouts ahead to get the lay of the land whenever he entered new territory. If his Master did not recover soon, Lord Kakistos would find out, and that would be the end of them both.

He glanced at the covered window, realizing by the deepening shadows that the sun was setting. Before leaving, she had warned him that it would not be in their best interests to be caught out when her Mistress patrolled with the Slayer. He had never liked it when they had to come to this town. Now, he just wished he could get them the hell out of here and never step foot on this God-forsaken soil ever again.

~~~ BtVS ~~ AU ~~ BtVS ~~~

Buffy walked into her somewhat silent house a little later that night. Even though she was sure that, with Calli's help, Faith had fully recovered from the trauma of retelling her tale, Buffy had still taken over the night's patrol and sent the Slayer and her servant on to the Bronze to join the others. She could hear Sera in their bedroom, whimpering in desperation. She knew that the ice cube was nearly gone, and she had teased her Pet mercilessly while she was patrolling.

Willow had also stayed home. She had told Buffy and Faith of the confrontation that had taken place between her and Xander after they'd left, and it had not done anything good for Lillith's opinion of her friend. Even Buffy was getting tired of his high-handed, righteous bullshit.

**'If he is not to be eliminated, then he will have to be watched.' **Lillith declared firmly. **'The second betrayal is always easier than the first.'**

_'We'll put Mala on it as soon as she gets here.'_ Buffy conceded.

**'How long will we play with the little mage before making her ours?'** Lillith asked, turning her attention to more 'pleasurable' pursuits.

_'Speaking of 'mage', we need to get her properly trained.' _Buffy suddenly thought. _'The Hellmouth corrupts, and that's the last thing we need from Willow, especially given how powerful she can become.'_

She felt a surge of impatience from her internal companion and the corners of her lips quirked upwards. _'To answer your question, though, I don't think we're going to have to wait very long. She wants this almost as much as we do. However, I do think that we __need__ to see if she can handle a few things.'_

'**Such as?'**

_'Multiple partners, for one.'_ Buffy pointed out. _'She was brought up with the same inhibitions that I was. Probably more, if you take into account her religious upbringing. We'll have to see if she can get past those.'_

**'What did you have in mind?'** Lillith asked slyly. Her host came up with interesting ideas at times.

_'I think we should have her help us attend to our Pet.'_ Buffy answered, her smile widening lasciviously. _'It will answer that question, and we can also see just how long she can hold back her own climax.'_ She considered something as she made her way up the stairs. _'We're going to have to keep our tail to ourselves tonight, Lil. We don't want to scare her with that just yet.'_

Buffy leaned against the door as she watched the red-head. She could tell that the need that had burned in her friend had cooled while she was gone. She smiled. If, no _when_, Willow took her mark, that would not be an issue. Like with Sera, she would be able to touch and tease from a distance, and keep that passion boiling until _she_ was ready to watch the release contort her beautiful face in sweet agony. Buffy licked her lips just thinking about it.

"Have you thought about it, Will?" Buffy asked, her soft and silky. She leaned against the door frame, staring back at the wide open eyes that were suddenly fully dilated and focused on her.

Willow swallowed convulsively, frozen in place.

**"Answer me, Willow."** Buffy commanded, her voice going deep and dark as it did whenever both her and Lillith's needs and wants meshed completely.

"Y-y-yes." Willow whispered almost soundlessly.

Buffy's lips curled into a slight smile, and the red-head shuddered, much to her delight. She approached the bed slowly, cautiously. A consummate predator that did not want her prey running. At least, not yet. **"And what have you decided?"**

Willow swallowed hard again, and Buffy's eyes followed the movement of her slender throat. "I..." Willow cleared her throat nervously. "I want it. I want to be your concubine."


	18. Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen

Willow shivered at the hungry smile that blossomed on Buffy's face at her acceptance. Buffy closed the remaining distance between them, cupping the back of her head and tilting it up to kiss her in a slow, heated kiss that turned her shivers to shudders.

"Come." Buffy said softly, helping her unsteady friend to her feet. "Before I can give you my Mark, we must make sure that you are able to handle all that is required of a Concubine. I know that Sera and Calli have probably told you, but it is something quite different to actually be a part of it."

Buffy walked them the short distance to her own room, where Sera was lying, naked and deliciously spotted, on the bed, her body undulating restlessly. Buffy smiled again, her eyes darkening to amber hues as Lillith began to emerge. "Is the ice melted yet, my Pet?"

"V-v-very nearly, M-Mistress." The young demon panted.

Buffy placed Willow on her knees next to the bed, and turned to her beautifully suffering Pet. She undressed, allowing her body to shift back into the form that had become natural to her since the massive feeding just days ago. It still took Willow by surprise how she could be attracted to Buffy in this form, but she had never seen Buffy do anything other than the erotic torture when in her demon form, so that might be a part of it. She didn't know what to make of the tail, but shivered as she watched it elongate from just above Buffy's ass. She had seen what Buffy could do with it.

Buffy climbed onto the bed next to Sera. She ran a careful claw up the sensitive spots of the Na'Gash's inner thigh, gathering up some of her fluids on her thick finger and offered it to the young mage at her side. Willow stared at the finger with wide eyes. "One thing you will have to become accustomed to, is playing with both me and my Pet. Whether I take you one at a time, or together, or have you fuck each other while I watch. Can you handle that, little witch?"

Green eyes flitted from the fingers to her hot amber gaze and back again, before filling with determination and a healthy dose of lust. Buffy's eyes narrowed as a little pink tongue darted out to taste curiously at the offering. In her head, Lillith crowed in delight at the little moan that broke from Willow's throat and the soft lips and silky tongue that quickly engulfed her fingers, wrapping around her claws in luscious strokes.

"Careful." Buffy whispered hoarsely. "My claws are sharp."

"Mmm." Hooded green eyes looked up at her, unconsciously seductive, as Willow deliberately flicked the tip of the claw in her mouth with her tongue, nicking it slightly. Buffy's eyes widened as a bolt of lust exploded through her as the magical energy in that little bit of blood soaked into her skin and, before Willow could react, she grabbed a handful of hair and nearly pulled the red-head onto the bed with them as she took her mouth heatedly, sucking on her tongue with such force that Willow could feel it in her pulsing sex.

**'Oh, yes,'** Lillith hissed in pleasure. **'A natural, indeed.'**

"Fuck the probationary period." Buffy growled. She kissed Sera's quivering belly as she pulled Willow completely onto the bed. "Cum, baby, then you can help me test the limits of Willow's endurance. The rest can wait for another time."

~~~ BtVS ~~ AU ~~ BtVS ~~~

Flick opened the door cautiously to the woman waiting patiently outside.

"Is he awake yet?" Callista asked.

Flick nodded warily. Trick had awakened a few hours after sunset and immediately drained nearly all of the cooler of blood. His wounds were mostly healed, but it was obvious that he would carry scars.

"I would like to speak with him on behalf of my Mistress."

"Let her in, Flick." Trick called out.

The manservant stepped back to allow her to pass. She smiled and followed him down the hall. The black vampire was still in bed, the sheets pulled up to his waist, and Callista glanced at the healing wounds that covered his chest, including the slash marks shaped in a cross between his pectorals.

"What do you want?" Trick asked her, his voice carefully devoid of inflection.

"My Mistress has a proposition for you." She sat down in the recliner. "Continue with your arrangements for the vampire, Kakistos. Once he arrives, however, you will inform him of the new rules, and arrange a meeting with him and my Mistress, and then you will leave Sunnydale. These are not up for negotiations. However, my Mistress would like to retain your services outside of Sunnydale borders, keeping us informed of the happenings of others. You will receive more than adequate compensation."

She gave him a steady look. "I would advise that you think on the matter carefully. We are well aware of the 'loyalty issues' of your kind, and my Mistress does not tolerate betrayal. What you have suffered here would be nothing compared to what she would do to you should that occur."

Trick shuddered, but nodded regardless. "I'll arrange for the meeting when he arrives. As for the offer, I'll think about it, and let you know."

"Good." Callista stood and handed a business card to Flick. "I would stay away from the Slayer, if I were you. This is still her town to patrol, and we will not interfere with her duty."

Trick nodded. Satisfied, Callista left and returned to the Bronze. She didn't see Faith at first, so she wasn't surprised when a sultry voice spoke in her ear from behind her. "Business all settled?"

Nodding, she turned to face the lightly perspiring young Slayer, and suddenly, all she wanted to do was drag her back to the house and lick all the sweat off her lithe and swaying body.

~~~ BtVS ~~ AU ~~ BtVS ~~~

Buffy sat back against the headboard and pulled the unresisting teenager onto her lap. Taking Willow's hands, she placed them on the headboard behind her, much like the position Sera had been in the first night they'd fucked in this bed. Even though Buffy did love her Pet to some degree, she knew the difference between fucking and making love, and the majority of the things that she did to her Pet most definitely fell into the former category.

"Do not let go." She ordered. Willow swallowed audibly as she nodded.

With idle flicks of her claws, she snipped off the buttons of the button down sleep shirt that the red-head was wearing. She split the seam of the pants down the crotch, releasing the tantalizing scent of her arousal. Buffy smiled and gave her a sly look. "How is your magick progressing? Did Giles decide to teach you after all?"

Willow looked down at her with a wild-eyed, confused look. Buffy grinned back at her and her brow rose in a silent demand for an answer. Willow gasped as she felt a sting along the crease of her thigh. "NO!" She nearly shrieked. "He...H-He still won't teach me. I-I found some b-b-books, and have been t-teaching myself."

**'Foolish human.'** Lillith tsked. **'It is irresponsible to **_**not**_** train such power. All power must be directed, whether for good or for bad. Either the mage controls the power, or the power controls the mage.'**

Buffy shifted her hands to remove her claws as she gripped Willow's thighs. "No more self-training, understand, Will? I will bring in a teacher for you."

"Okay." Willow said softly, responding to the seriousness in her voice.

"No more magick until you begin your training." Buffy commanded. "I will know, Willow, and you will not like the consequences."

"Yes, Mistress."

Buffy's eyes widened at the title, then narrowed as lust flooded her at hearing it from her best friend. She immediately put all concerns about magick aside for more interesting pursuits. She glanced over Willow's shoulder as Sera climbed behind her. Willow froze as the young demon pressed her body close, and her hands came around to cup her breasts. Buffy's lips curled up slightly as silky fluid seeped onto her legs from between Willow's thighs.

"Hmm, Willow," Buffy purred, her tail moving unconsciously to curl around Sera's leg and tease at her slick, open folds. "I think you'll make a _fine_ Concubine."

She drew a finger up the length of the redhead's slit, then held Willow's eyes as she drew the soaked digit into her mouth. Her own eyes slid closed and she was nearly moaning at the taste. Like her blood, the nectar of her arousal was saturated with magickal essence.

'**Oh, yes,'** Lillith purred delightedly. **'We are going to have **_**so**_** much fun with this one.'**

'_Good thing the weekend's coming up, isn't it?'_ Buffy concurred.


	19. Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen

_'Mala, where are you now?'_ Buffy sent out as she pulled the covers over the two young women sleeping in her bed. Looking at them, she was almost disappointed that she no longer required sleep.

_'We are in Las Vegas, Mistress.'_ Came the immediate answer. _'At the Bellagio.'_

_'I'm tired of waiting for you,'_ Buffy told her. _'and my Pet is excited to see her mom.'_

_'I cannot wait to see her either.'_ Mala admitted. _'It has been almost three months.'_

Stepping out onto the balcony, she tipped her head up to the wind as her body shifted to full demon form. She unfurled her wings and stretched her muscles. _'I'm coming to get you. When we get back, the first thing that I need you to do is find me a witch to train an untutored beginner.'_

_'Mistress?'_

Buffy took to the air as she answered, smiling as the wind whipped against her face. _'My new Concubine is a novice witch. She is completely self-taught. She started off floating pencils, but recently attempted an ensouling curse on a vampire. Feeling the depth of her power, I'm inclined to think that the spell failed only because of the head injury that she had just sustained.'_

_'We have such a witch with us.'_ Mala told her. _'She joined our community after running from her abusive husband. She is a hereditary witch, and she has practiced all of her life.'_

_'Have her with you when I arrive.'_ Buffy commanded. _'I will speak to her.'_

_'As you wish, Mistress.'_

It didn't take Buffy long to travel from Sunnydale to Las Vegas. It would have been shorter, but she caught some interesting thermals that took her so high that even with her mostly-demon physiology, she still got lightheaded. Of all the powers and abilities that she'd gained from the merging with the Old One, this was definitely the one she appreciated the most. She _loved_ flying!

**'And you complain that I am easily distracted.'** Lillith commented, amused.

Finally setting down in a dark alley behind the hotel where Mala and her clan were housed for the night, Buffy shrugged as she shifted back into human form. She covered her body the same way she did when she hunted with Faith, so it looked like she was dressed in intricate leathers, and summoned her favorite coat from her closet back home. She had taken to leaving the tips of her blonde hair deep, dark red, making it look like her hair had been dipped in blood. To complete the look, she kept her eye color a deep amber and allowed her eyeteeth to remain just long enough to be noticeable when she smiled. It was a look that she was favoring more and more for her human visage. Well, except for in her mother's presence, that is. Needless to say, she drew attention as she waltzed through the hotel lobby.

"Ah, m-m-may I h-help you?" A young blushing boy at the front desk asked nervously.

"I'm sure you could," she answered smoothly, a sultry smile on her lips. "but I'd probably break you."

His face turned bright red and he shifted uncomfortably, and Buffy's smile deepened at the scent of his sudden, intense arousal filled the air. Before he could stammer out a response, Buffy turned away to see the Na'Gash Matriarch step off the elevators.

"Ah, good," She said as Mala reached her. "Are you ready?"

"Yes, Mistress." Mala answered. The front desk attendant's eyes widened, and the scent of his arousal spiked once more. She led Buffy into the lounge to a table where two women, obviously mother and daughter, were having a late night snack. Buffy blinked as she felt them. The shielding was remarkable. She knew suddenly that it was these women, or someone in their line, that had created the charms that had been shielding Sera and Callista when she first encountered them. She knew from Giles that hereditary witches grew stronger in each generation, and from the power of these two, their line must have somehow remained intact throughout the ages. "Mistress, this is Diana Maclay and her daughter, Tara."

"Pleasure to meet you." Buffy shook Diana's hand, drawing a taste of her magic. The woman gasped. Buffy's eyes went heavy-lidded as her whole body reacted. Ohh, her magick was so _powerful_. "You will be perfect. You're very well balanced and well taught. Your line stretches back to the first ones."

Diana nodded shakily. The moment their hands had met, she'd seen beyond Buffy's physical form to what Buffy really was. "We are the direct descendants of Morgan Le Fey."

**'Oh, it goes back much further than that. I am not surprised that she ended up with the Na'Gash.'** Lillith said to Buffy even as the ex-slayer explained the situation to Diana. "My little mage was born virtually on top of a highly active Hellmouth, and therefore her power leans understandably more towards the Dark than the Light." Buffy told her. "Also, she is so powerful for one so young that I suspect there is a warlock or two among her line. She must be taught to control her magick before it consumes her. Can you handle that?"

"I believe that I can." Diana assured her. "If I find that I cannot, then I know someone trustworthy."

"Very well." Buffy nodded, then turned to Tara and held out her hand. "It's nice to meet you as well."

The moment their hands touched, Lillith nearly surged to the forefront of their consciousness. Tara's magick was so pure that it actually burned Buffy's skin slightly, which just made the touch all the more pleasurable to her. It was the nature of the Old One to take such purity and devour it or enslave it. Right now, she was leaning heavily towards the latter.

In that moment, Buffy realized two things. The first was that, sooner or later, this little white witch would be in her bed, another Concubine alongside her black mage, one way or another. The other thing that she realized was a little more worrying. Her appetites had become so completely merged with Lillith's that she could no longer tell them apart. She gave a brief internal sigh of resignation. Oh well, Lillith had warned her.

**'Enough already!'** Lillith declared in exasperation. **'I've been just as contaminated by your 'humanity'. You do not hear me complaining uselessly about it.'**

_'I'm not complaining,'_ Buffy denied. _'just acknowledging.'_

**'I do not care. I am tired of it regardless.'**

_'All right, all right, no more self-analyzing. I'm sure that we can come up with something better to think about.'_

**'Yes,'** Lillith agreed as their attention turned back to Tara. **'I'm sure we can.'**

~~~ BtVS ~~ AU ~~ BtVS ~~~

Tara stared at the being before her. She had never seen such a blending of light and dark in an aura before. Buffy Summers had the aura of a human and the aura of a demon. A very _powerful_ demon. The auras were mixed and meshed and melded so completely that it was impossible to tell where one became the other, but the difference was clearly visible.

"What are you?" She whispered involuntarily.

Buffy heard and leaned a little closer to whisper in her ear. "Depends entirely on what you want me to be."

Nipping her earlobe, Buffy smirked as she heard the young woman's heartbeat rise sharply. Her internal conversation with Lillith had only taken a few seconds, and she'd come out of it in time to hear Tara's whisper to herself. Pulling away, she turned to Diana Maclay, who had been distracted by Mala and missed the entire encounter.

"I am taking Mala back with me tonight." Buffy told her. "I would like you to come with us. Tara as well, of course. I would like for you to evaluate Willow yourself."

Diana studied the young woman closely. "I have heard a lot about you in the last few days. Is it true that you were once a Slayer?"

"In my previous life, yes I was." Buffy turns to Mala. "Which reminds me, when we get there, you'll be introduced to Faith, the current Slayer. You will also meet Giles, my previous Watcher, my Mother and Xander. I need Xander watched. He's already betrayed me once, and he's been adamant about finding a way to separate us."

"Yes, Mistress."

"Can I get anything for you ladies?" A young man asked as he approached.

Buffy caught Tara's eyes as she answered him with a sly smile. "I'll have an Orgasm."

Tara's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open, then realized that the other blonde had just requested a drink when the bartender looked dubious and asked for ID. She grinned at the amused roll of Buffy's eyes as she fished her ID from inside her coat and handed it to him. After examining it closely, the waiter nodded and took everyone else's orders. Once the young man left, they continued the conversation.

"We are not a part of the clan." Diana told to Buffy. "Will we be able to leave whenever we wish?"

"Of course." Buffy shrugged. "Everyone is free, even after they take my Mark." She drew Mala into a quick, but still heated kiss. "They will serve only as long as they wish to."

Tara nearly whimpered as she felt a heated pulse between her legs. She might only be eighteen, but she had spent most of her life with the Na'Gash. They were not exactly private about their interactions, even the sexual ones, and Tara had long ago discovered the voyeur inside.

The waiter returned with their drinks and Tara sipped at her coke as she listened to her mother question the Mistress of the Na'Gash. She understood her mother's worry. Her mother was currently involved with one of the Na'Gash women, had been for several years, and was worried that she was going to lose her lover.

"All right." Diana finally stopped the inquisition. "We will go with you."

"Great." Buffy swallowed the rest of her drink and stood up. "Let's go back to your room so that you can pack a few things, then we'll be on our way. The others can bring along the rest of your stuff."


	20. Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen

Buffy followed the women up to Diana's hotel room so that she and her daughter could grab a few things from their luggage. Diana's lover, a beautiful Na'Gash woman named Emina was awed by the presence of her Mistress, staring at her with devotion in her eyes even as she unconsciously wrapped her arm around Diana's waist.

Buffy smiled at that unthinking action. She sat down in one of the plush chairs as Diana explained to her lover that Buffy was taking them ahead. She watched the two of them through the bedroom door, loving words to one another as Diana grabbed a few things from one of her bags. Her gaze shifted as Tara came out of the other room with her travel bag. She smiled at the other girl as she sat on the couch.

"How is Sera?" Tara asked. "I haven't seen her since she transferred. I was a little worried when she didn't call me last week, but when I spoke to her the other day, she told me that she had become your Pet."

"She's fine. Between her studies and her duties to me, she's been running pretty ragged." Buffy answered. "Mostly my fault, I know, but Callista has been doing good with making sure that I let her get enough sleep."

"So, she didn't have to stop school to be your Pet?" Tara asked. She had been worried about that, but hadn't known how to ask her friend.

"Of course not." Buffy shook her head. "My mother would kick my ass if she dropped out of school to work for me. She and Willow are in the same grade. What about you? What grade are you in?"

"I graduated a year ahead." Tara blushed shyly. "Since we decided to come with Mala and the others, I've put in my application to UC Sunnydale."

"A college student, eh." Buffy moved to sit next to her on the couch. "I actually didn't think I'd live long enough to go to college. Actually, I never thought I'd see the end of high school."

"Will you tell me about your life before?"

"Sure." Buffy shrugged. "What do you want to know?"

~~~ BtVS ~~ AU ~~ BtVS ~~~

"What's wrong, baby?" Emina asked her lover as Diana glanced over her shoulder to look at the two in the living room.

She glanced at her lover and sighed. "When I shook her hand, I had a vision."

"About the Mistress, or about Tara?"

"Both of them." Diana sighed again and sat down on the bed. "You know that she has taken Mala's daughter as a Pet?" Emina nodded. It was a great honor even now. "Well, she has also taken a human Concubine."

"All of the Mistress' Concubines have been human." Emina told her. "Humans were either Concubines or slaves and weaker demons were either servants or slaves, but humans were never servants and demons were never Concubines."

As intriging as that information was, Diana wasn't interested in it at the moment. "From what I could make of my vision, it seems that Tara will end up as another Concubine. I'm worried. Look at them. They are already attracted to each other."

Emina kissed her softly and hugged her. "Talk to Callista before you make any rash decisions. I know you, baby, and you'll do anything to protect Tara, but this might be what she needs. Those bastards really did a number on her before you two got out of there, and even at her worst as a demon, the Mistress always treated her Concubines very well. It will, if nothing else, help her self-esteem tremendously."

"Maybe."

"Don't worry about it." Emina kissed her again. "Go on. We should be there the day after tomorrow. You check with Callista about this new version of our Mistress, and we'll talk more about it then."

"We all set?" Buffy asked as the two women finally rejoined them. Mala had come to the room a few minutes ago.

"Yes, I'm ready." Diana told her, moving to stand next to her daughter.

Buffy looked to Emina. "We will see you soon. If you have any troubles, call Calli."

~~~ BtVS ~~ AU ~~ BtVS ~~~

Callista was just locking the door behind her when she felt the surge of her Mistress' power and a familiar presence. With a delighted smile, she hurried into the den and threw her arms around her friend. "Mala!"

Buffy left them with Callista as she went upstairs to wake her Pet. She smiled at the sight that greeted her when she entered the room. Both Willow and Sera had gravitated to the center of the bed in her absence, and now Willow was plastered against Sera's back and her hand was cupping a plump breast.

"Wake up, ladies." Buffy said, sitting on Sera's side of the bed. "You've got visitors."

"Mistress?" Sera's eyes blinked open.

"Your mother is here, my Pet." Buffy smiled. "She's waiting to see you downstairs."

Sera's eyes widened in amazement before her face split into a beautiful smile. She bounced out of the bed, startling Willow awake. "Wha... Buffy?"

"I've got someone for you to meet too, Will." Buffy told her. "I've brought you a teacher. If she agrees to teach you, you will do as she says. No improvements, no shortcuts. Understand?"

Willow stared up at her uncomprehendingly for a moment, then her eyes widened as her waking mind finally realized what her friend was talking about. "A teacher? For my magick? Really?"

"Yes. She's downstairs with Sera's mother. Her daughter, Tara, also came along. She's a little shy, but I think you'll like her. Come on down after you're dressed."

Buffy left the room before the redhead could throw off the covers, knowing that if she saw her friend naked, then Willow wouldn't make it school later, much less make it downstairs now. Her fingers were already tingling. When Willow joined them a few minutes later, she was dressed in a different set of pajamas. Buffy sat quietly on a stool at the bar, content to observe, as Callista made the introductions. She noted with interest that Willow was instantly attracted to the shy blonde as she had been.

_'Well, that will definitely make things easier.'_ she thought.

**'Won't it though.'** Lillith replied.

At Diana's request, Callista lead her and Willow out of the room for more privacy. She heard them enter the solarium, then turned her attention to the others.

"Sera, take Tara upstairs so that she can pick out a room." Buffy said. "I need to talk to Mala for a bit."

"Yes, Mistress." Sera said excitedly. She was so happy that her friend was here. "C'mon, Tara. All of the rooms here are beautiful."

"Thank you, Mistress." Mala said after they were gone.

"For what?" Buffy's brow rose.

"Before you rejoined us, Sera told us how you met."

"Ahh, the vampire." Mala nodded, and Buffy smiled. "The charms are very good. He had no idea that she wasn't human, but I'm sure he knew the moment he tasted her blood. Not that he got to enjoy it, mind you."

Mala simply nodded. "You wanted to speak with me, Mistress?"

**"Yes, I want to know if you've found anything more of our mate."** Lillith answered, coming to the forefront of their shared consciousness. Her body shifted in automatic response to the switch. **"I want my mate out of that prison as soon as possible."**

"We have been trying to discover the fate of the Master's Qwa'ha Xahn." Mala told her. "Since they were all human, we do not know if they were spared during the uprising."

Lillith stretched her wings for a moment, then settled them around her body. **"My mate will need a body when the time comes."** She said thoughtfully.

"Can the Master not merely do as you did?" Mala asked.

Lillith shook her head. **"My host and I came to this agreement out of necessity, and I was already a part of her. My essence merely reawakened fully due to the Hell dimension that we were in. If there had been any other choice, she would never have considered the merging."**

"A sacrifice cannot be made?" Mala suggested.

**"No. Even if my host was willing to allow one of her precious humans to be sacrificed for our mate, the shells of humans are weak. To use one of their shells would result in adjustments which would render my mate unacceptably diminished."** She gestured at herself. **"This ****body ****was only strong enough because my essence made it more sturdy than most, and we had centuries to complete the merging of our essences. Even the demons left behind will not be sufficient."**

Mala remained quiet as Lillith's expression turned thoughtful. She studied her Mistress while her attention was elsewhere. This humanoid form was beautiful for the Old One. She found herself wondering just how much the merging with the human had affected her Mistress' appetites. She would definitely have to speak with her daughter, at length. Maybe even get a demonstration of what she had learned. Even though they _looked_ human, the Na'Gash were pure demons, and therefore, they were not weighed down by such useless human taboos such as incest. It made no sense to her. Human parents worried so much about their children's sexual education, but are not willing to train them accordingly. She taught her daughter the pleasures of the body just as she had been taught by _her_ mother. Further thoughts were interrupted as her Mistress began speaking again.

**"I think a Golem is in order."**

"Mistress?"

**"****If ****a suitable shell does not yet exist,"** Lillith explained. **"****then ****one will simply have to be created."**

_'Do you think that your mate will try to rebuild your empire?'_ Buffy suddenly asked.

**'It is possible.'** Lillith admitted to her. **'My mate has always been of the mind that the strong rule over the weak. Our empire was so vast because we were among the strongest. We were only defeated because we were betrayed by those we most trusted. My mate will want vengeance, both on those who betrayed us and on the slaves that ultimately imprisoned us.'**

_'How do you know that it was the slaves that imprisoned you all?'_ Buffy asked curiously.

**'My kind would never think of entrapping an essence like your kind have. It would be more cruel to allow the essence the freedom to watch the world around unfold without being able to take part in it.'**

_'The world isn't the same, Lil.' _Buffy reminded her. _'Humans won't just lay down and roll over in submission just because someone, or something, is stronger. We don't respond well to enslavement, and the weapons are significantly more effective than a sharp blade or a pointed piece of wood.'_

**'I have noticed this as I examined your memories.'** Lillith admitted. **'Although these 'guns' and 'bombs' and such would probably not affect us, it would however decimate any army we would raise since there are only these weaklings to work with. However, I have also noticed that there is more than one way to rule. Once we are reunited with our mate, we will see.'**

_'Our mate?'_

**'We have merged.'**__Lillith told her. **'Despite our separate voices and thoughts, we are, in essence, one. My mate is also yours as much as your family is also mine.'**

_'Hmm,' _Buffy said thoughtfully. _'That makes sense, I guess.'_

Lillith returns her attention to Mala. **"Find out all that you can. I grow tired of waiting."**

"Yes, Mistress."

Lillith retreated and Buffy came back to the forefront. As before, her form shifted again, this time to the neutral form. "While you're at it, Mala, I want you to look into the Watcher's Council. I've seen the difference between me and Kendra and Faith, and something is off there. I wasn't found until after I was called, Faith was found only a few years before she was called, and Kendra was raised by her Watcher. We're all vastly different, and I want to know if it's because of who we were, or because of Council training. Use whatever resources you need to."

"Yes, Mistress."

"Go on, and pick out your room, Mala." Buffy dismissed her. She held her hand out to Callista, who had come back in while they were talking, and pulled her between her legs. "We'll be up in a few minutes. Tomorrow is Friday, so you'll come with us to dinner at my mom's house, and we'll get the introductions out of the way. Diana and Tara can come as well, if they wish."

Mala nodded and left the room. Buffy turned her attention to Callista and wrapped her legs around the taller woman's waist. "How was your night out with the wild child? Was she what you hoped for?"

"Oh yes, Mistress." Callista smiled brightly. "She was delicious. I would suggest that you taste her yourself, but I would like to keep her for a little while longer."

Buffy burst out laughing at Callista's teasing. They had become close since their initial meeting. Nothing like the relationship between Buffy and Willow, but enough that Callista was comfortable in her presence outside of the whole 'Mistress' thing. Callista understood more of what Buffy was now than Willow possibly could, and it added a dimension on their relationship, at least, until Willow caught up. Her best friend was a genius, after all, and she picked things up quickly.

"Want to spend the night with me?" Buffy asked. "Give Sera time to catch up with her mom and Tara."

Callista leaned down and kissed her as she wrapped her hands around toned thighs and lifted the smaller woman off the stool. "I would love to."

Just as she was laid on the bed, Buffy spoke again. "Oh, and Calli, speak with Diana. I believe that she has questions for you."

"Yes, Mistress." Callista managed before coherent thought fled as Buffy raked her claws down the dark, sensitive spots along her spine.

Buffy's lips curled in satisfaction as she reached up and grabbed a fist full of hair to pull the other woman down into her kiss and curled her tail around a tensing thigh. It was going to be a great weekend.


	21. Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty

Kakistos looked out at the humans of this small town with disdain. For all its advantages, he did _not_ like the modern world. He longed for the simplicity of times long past, where he could indulge in the pleasure of his victims screams as he tortured, raped, and pillaged. Humans had grown too prolific to risk the size of the inevitable mob that occurred each time he truly indulged himself. That was the true reason why he wished for the return of the Old Ones.

He had fought Heinrich Nest for control of this Hellmouth long ago but, although Nest had been younger than he, his rival had made wise choices when it came to his Childer. He had been forced to 'lay low' for nearly five decades to recover and rebuild his powerbase. He would have taken Sunnydale when he had been informed of Nest's entrapment, but he had been told to opening the Hellmouth would not only free Nest, but also grant him Ascension. That simply would not do until he was powerful enough himself to face the other vampire.

_Hmm,_ he thought as he looked at town, _it looks as if that little worm Wilkins has fulfilled his end of his bargain with Nest. I wonder what has become of him. If he is still around, he could prove useful._ He made a mental note to have Trick look into it.

He had rejoiced when he'd learned of Nest's demise at the hands of the Slayer. He would have returned to the Hellmouth then but for situation that he had found himself in at the time, and by the time he had managed to return to the Colonies, he found himself dealing with his past in a way that he had never expected.

It had been the mad vampire seer Drusilla that had informed him of the source of his obsession to destroy the young Slayer, Faith. The spirit of the Slayer that he and his Maenads had tortured and killed had been granted a dying wish by the Vengeance Demon that had once been her daughter, who had been tortured to insanity, also at the hands of his mad servants.

By the time the Slayer had discovered the truth and purged the vengeful spirit, she had already scarred him, and earned his eternal wrath. He would not stop until he was drinking the blood of her still beating heart. Now she has come here, to the one placed he most wanted to be, and he could finally achieve both of his goals.

"We're here, my Lord." The driver informed, glancing back over his shoulder after pulling over to the curb since he couldn't see the vampire in the mirror.

"Go inside and bring Trick to me." The ancient Master ordered.

"Yes, my Lord."

~~~ BtVS ~~ AU ~~ BtVS ~~~

Buffy smiled at the collection of people in the den. Callista, Mala and Diana were on the couch talking about children, while Willow, Sera and Tara were, oddly enough, talking about parents. Buffy almost laughed as she listened to the almost parallel conversations.

It had been a great day. Mala, Sera and Callista had caught up on what they'd each been doing while they'd been apart. Diana had thoroughly tested and examined Willow's magick skills and potential.

Best of all, Buffy had gotten to know Tara. Buffy had shown her around town and they had talked until it was nearly the end of the school day, then they made their way to the high school where they waited for Sera and Willow.

**'We should locate her sire and eviscerate him.'** Lillith said.

_'As tempting as that sounds, we can't leave until we take care of Tacky Kaky.'_ Buffy told her.

Tara had told Buffy about her life before she and her mother had found the Na'Gash community. They had been both physically and mentally abused until Diana had discovered her husband viciously beating her eight year old daughter after he'd been called by one of his friends who had seen her practicing her growing magic.

Knowing that they wouldn't get any help in the small town where her husband was both well known and well liked, Diana had knocked her husband out with her stepson's baseball bat and taken Tara and run as far and as fast as she could. She had taken the first ride that had stopped. The woman had taken one look at the mother and daughter, and taken them straight to her Matriarch.

Buffy let her eyes roam of the luscious curves of the white witch. A wicked smile curved her lips. She couldn't wait to get her hands on those curves. Unfortunately, it wasn't going to happen tonight. Her mother was expecting them for dinner, and the Maclays had agreed to join them. She had already informed the newcomers that her mother did not know the exact nature of her demon or her relationship with Sera, so they knew to carefully watch what they said.

"Is everyone ready to go?" She asked, drawing their collective attention.

Sera immediately crossed the room to throw her arms around Buffy's neck and kiss her. Buffy grinned as she wrapped her arms around her slender waist. She went over to where the other two girls were standing and wrapped an arm around Willow's waist as well, smiling slyly when Willow blushed. She turned with her girls and nodded to Callista and Mala, indicating her readiness to be off. She held Sera back as the others passed them, her eyes fixed on the blonde and the redhead walking close together. "What do you think of those two, my Pet?"

"There is something between them, Mistress." Sera answered as they followed the group. They found Mala waiting just outside the room to walk with them. "They connected instantly. I cannot see such things as well as Callista or Mother, but if I had to make an assumption, then I would have to say that their coming together is inevitable."

"Then it is a good thing that I want her, isn't it?" Buffy smirked.

"And if they wish to only be with one another?" Mala asked curiously. "Humans have odd ideas of singular relationships."

**'Take them both anyway.'** Was Lillith's immediate response.

_'No, I will not keep anyone against their will.'_ Buffy said firmly. "If I cannot convince them otherwise, then I will release Willow. You forget, Mala, that I used to be human myself. I know that sometimes humans need monogamous relationships. Somehow though, I don't think that will be the case here."

The group split up at the garage, half in Callista's car and the other half in Sera's. As they rode, Buffy turned to look at the Matriarch of the Na'Gash. "I was wondering. How do you guys make your money? I seriously doubt that staying at the Bellagio was cheap, even with a group rate."

Mala smiled. "We make adult toys, for both humans and demons. It is a very profitable business, despite the strange notions humans have regarding sexual proclivities."

"Really?" Buffy's eyes lit up with interest. "Do you have stores or is it done online? Do you make the toys yourselves, or outsource?"

"It is mostly online, although our items can be purchased in most retail adult stores. Items that are sold retail are mass-produced in a factory owned by the clan, but employed with only humans, but we make the special-orders ourselves." Mala explained. "One particular group within the clan runs an exclusive escort service. Very expensive and by referral only. Our clan also owns several sex clubs and numerous nightclubs, for both humans and demons and even a few that allow both to co-mingle, which cater to the more 'extreme' appetites. They are all yours now."

"Huh?" Buffy's eyes went wide. "Mine?"

"Of course. You are our Mistress. All that we are and all that we have, is yours. Other clans own other businesses, which will more than likely also be signed over to you when the Matriarchs of each clan takes your Mark."

"Well, I don't want or need them." Buffy's incredulous look turned thoughtful. "I'll have to think of something. When we get to the house, we'll get together after dinner and talk. Maybe Willow or my mother will have an idea, as long as we don't tell them exactly what types of businesses these are."

Buffy was quiet the rest of the trip as she thought about this new situation she found herself in. How was she going to deal with having multiple businesses?

**'I would think the more interesting concern would be how you are going to tell the Slayer that her enemy has arrived.'**


	22. Chapter TwentyOne

Chapter Twenty-One

Dinner went smoothly by everyone's standards. The adults were introduced and quickly fell into 'parent' talk. Faith teased Tara in her usual brash and forward manner, and grinned in appreciation when the blonde matched her wit despite her blushes. Finally, Buffy and Faith left the others at the Summers' residence as they went out on patrol.

"Kakistos is here, Faith." Buffy said as they approached Restfield Cemetery.

Faith froze in her tracks, trembling visibly. "H-h-here? In Sunnydale?"

Buffy stepped in front of her and stared her directly in the eyes. "Yes. He arrived earlier tonight."

Faith looked wildly from one side to the other, almost as if she expected the Master Vampire to jump her right then and there. Buffy could tell that she was ready to bolt, and quickly reached out and grabbed both her arms to hold her in place.

"Remember what I told you, Faith." Buffy recaptured her flitting gaze. "If necessary, I will protect you, but you are a _Slayer_. Vampires are suppose to fear _you_, not the other way around."

Faith swallowed hard, but nodded. Slowly, her body stopped it's erratic fidgeting. "Okay." She took a deep breath. "What do we do?"

Now, Buffy smiled, but it wasn't the types of smiles that Faith had become used to. This one was filled with a freaky kind of cruel anticipation. "First, he will go to see the vampire that he sent ahead of him, who has already experienced my anger. Kakistos will discover that he has to deal with me, before he can come after you since I have already declared you 'off limits'."

Faith took another deep breath, then nodded. The sudden adrenaline rush left her wired. "Fuck, I need to kill something."

"Then it's a good thing that there are two demons heading in this direction below ground, isn't it?" Faith looked down, and noticed that she was standing next to a manhole. She looked back up at Buffy, who smirked before walking away. "I have some business to take care of. Have fun."

The moment Faith disappeared into the sewers, Buffy leapt onto a headstone, then to a stone angel, and from there, to the top of a mausoleum. Then, she shifted form and stretched her wings, allowing the evening breeze to lift her into the air. For a brief moment, Buffy once again relished in the sheer freedom of flying, before Lillith turned them in the direction of the vampire.

~~~ BtVS ~~ AU ~~ BtVS ~~~

"What do you mean, there is a situation?" Kakistos demanded furiously. "What _type_ of 'situation'?"

"There is a new Master of Sunnydale, and she doesn't seem to be inclined to let us have our usual fun with the locals." Trick told him. After careful consideration, he'd decided to take Callista's warnings to heart. His bags were packed and in the car. He and Flick would be hightailing it out of this hell-bound small town as soon as he got the meeting arranged between his former employer and Sunnydale's new Master. "This new player is very dangerous, and not in a good way. From what I've been able to learn, she declared her intent to take over Sunnydale less than a week ago, and already the entire demon population here is terrified of her. Stretch out your senses, old man. There isn't a single fledgling here less than a month old."

"What do you know of this 'new Master'?" Kakistos asked sneeringly. The young vampire would pay for his disrespect at a later time.

"I know that she left a vampire blood-deprived and tongueless as an introduction." Trick said dryly. "I know that she found carving crosses into my chest and anointing them with holy water fitting punishment for merely _threatening_ to harm someone under her protection. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that she was actually getting off on it. I also know that this person, or creature, or whatever the fuck she is, is more powerful than anything or anyone I've ever encountered, including you."

Suddenly, there was a splintering sound as the front door suddenly exploded open and, without warning, Kakistos' guards disappeared in mini-explosions of dust. Kakistos and Trick waved their hands to dispel the dust, to see a lithe, dark form leaning negligently in the doorway. "Well, that certainly makes the introductions easier."

As an opening, even Kakistos had to admit that it was impressive. A Master of his age and strength should have sensed a being of such power beforehand, but she had not only avoided detection, but admirably demonstrated that she could have destroyed him before he was even aware of her presence. Even now he could not sense her, and he was looking right at her. It was a statement of power, pure and simple. Someone like this would make a formidable ally, but their interests were already clashing. A shame, really, that he would have to see that she was removed so that he could finally conclude his business with this Slayer. The Slayer herself was of little consequence, but he simply could not allow such a conduit for Artemia to remain.

"Well, Lady, may I at least have your name?" He asked, his Old World Greek manners automatically kicking in, in the face of such an obvious power.

"You can ask." Buffy shrugged. She knew that, strategically speaking, she had the advantage when she knew so much about them, yet they knew so little about her. "Thank you, Trick, you may leave now. You have my servant's card in regards to the other matter."

"Yeah, sure." The black vampire mumbled as he grabbed his coat and eased warily around her, "Whatever."

"You have come to talk terms, I presume." Kakistos said after the other vampire was gone.

"No, I came to talk rules." Buffy rebuffed. "I do not care _who _you are. The same rule applies. The people of Sunnydale are off limits. You can make arrangement with the local butcher shop, or use the blood whores on the other side of town. The Slayer is equally off limits. All that she associates with, are off limits. You will be watched. Closely." She turned to leave, then paused to look back. "Oh, one more thing. Attempt to go anywhere near the Hellmouth, either above ground or below it, and you and all of your line will be destroyed. No leniency."

The moment she stepped through the doorway, she vanished as if she had never been there. Kakistos rushed to the door and looked out, only to see his human servants slumped unconscious on the ground next to the limousine, and no sign of the remainder of his vampire guards.

He acknowledged to himself that he had much to consider about this turn of events as he went back inside. Since Trick had obviously run like a coward, and this residence was already secured, he would remain here for the time being.

~~~ BtVS ~~ AU ~~ BtVS ~~~

Buffy was sitting sedately on the curb when Faith hoisted herself out of the manhole. She was covered in grime and slime, but she was smiling brightly and Buffy could smell her arousal even through the stench.

"You know, B," Faith said as she approached, "you outta buy the dry cleaners. That why I can get my shit cleaned without the bill. I swear it costs more every time I go there."

Buffy smiled but said nothing. She extended her senses, but all the demons that she felt were 'relatively' harmless. It seemed that her warning had been taken to heart by the supernatural world. She let Faith know, then gave her a sly smile. "Do you want to hit the Bronze, or would you rather see what Calli's doing?"

Faith's eyes lit up and she grinned salaciously. "Fuck the Bronze. Did you know those spots are *everywhere*?"

"Of course I do." Buffy grinned back. "They're pleasure demons, you know." Faith looked at her with wide eyes, then Buffy put on the _coup-de-grâce_ by leaning in closer to say. "Most of the spots are erogenous zones."

Faith sucked in a breath as lust surged through her. Before she could react, Buffy was behind her, ignoring the grime and slime to press close to the younger girl and hold her with an arm around her waist. "The more aroused they are, the darker they become." Lillith filtered through as she scraped her teeth over the visibly thudding jugular vein. **"The darker they become, the more sensitive they are."**

"Oh, shit." Faith's knees nearly buckled.

Buffy smiled slyly as she supported the Slayer a few steps until she got her shaky limbs under control. "By the way, I paid a little visit to Kakistos while you were down there." Faith froze, and gave her a wary look. "I informed him of my rules against killing, and that you and anyone that you associated with were off limits. I also took out the vampires that he brought with him, leaving only his human servants. We'll see what he tries from there."

"Why didn't you just dust him and be done with it?" Faith asked.

"Because this is something that you need to deal with." Buffy declared firmly. "This is a handicap that you cannot afford with your Calling. A Slayer is never supposed to be this afraid of a _vampire_, of all things. Aware of his strengths and your weaknesses, yes. Aware of his willingness to destroy all that you love, yes. Willing to retreat to fight on better terms, of course. But to be willing to run without fighting is out of the question."

"Hey," Faith snarled, momentarily forgetting just who and _what_ she was talking to. "you ain't one to talk, bitch. I heard you was ready to quit the job when you had to go up again the Master, so don't get all high and mighty with me."

In the blink of an eye, Faith was lifted off her feet with the small blonde's hand around her neck. "The difference between your situation and mine, was that I was prepared to fight the Master, until Giles told me that I was prophesied to die. I was 16, with less than a year of any *real* training. Unlike you, I was not 'educated' in my duty. I had Merrick for less than a month before he was killed. I'd been with Giles for less then a year, and all of a sudden, my death was a forgone conclusion." She pulled Faith close so that they were face to face. "Do not presume to compare our situations. I ran because I _knew_ I wouldn't win, you run because you _think_ you can't win."

She tossed Faith away from her watched dispassionately as the Slayer struggled back to her feet and into a fighting stance, even as she tried to regain her breath. A sharp lance of power put her back on the ground, and held her there. She knelt beside the struggling Slayer.

"Do you really want to do this, Faith?" Buffy asked quietly, her head cocked to the side as she fought Lillith from taking over as the Old One responded to the fear and the fight in the girl. "Do you really think that you can challenge me?"

Finally, Faith stopped struggling and went limp, staring blankly up at the night sky. "You weren't there, B." She said quietly, a tear falling from her eye. "He had me a tied to a chair while he tortured Diana for h-hours. God, it felt like we were t-trapped there forever. Then, he fucking ripped her apart. I _tried_ to dust him, but his skin's so hard that the wood just won't go through." She took a deep breath. "Wanna let me up?"

Buffy released her. Faith sat up but didn't get back to her feet. "Diana was the first person that didn't treat me like white trash. I know she was probably just doing her job, but she really did care about me. And not just me, neither. She made sure that me and my buddies got off the streets and outta the crowds we were running with."

Buffy sat down next to her, but remained quiet, knowing that the Slayer needed to get it out of her system. She let Faith talk for a little while longer, then urged her back to her feet and directed them back towards her mother's house. By the time they were back on Revello Dr., Buffy had a clear picture of just how much Diana had meant to the dark-haired Slayer.

"Are you going to be okay?" Buffy asked.

"Five by five, B."

They were almost at their destination when Buffy had to ask. "Faith, I know that my memories of popular sayings are still a little fuzzy, but what the hell does that mean?"

**A/N:** Anyone got a good answer to that?


	23. Chapter TwentyTwo

Chapter Twenty-Two

Faith was mostly back to her brash, swaggering self by the time they got back to the Summers house. She sauntered into the house, made sure Mrs. S wasn't in the room, then began grinding against Callista's back. "I feel like gettin' down and dirty, baby. Wanna play?"

"You know that I always like to play with you." Callista grinned at her, turning around in her arms. "The Bronze? Or someplace a little more...private?"

"Why can't we do both?" Faith leered. "Hit up the Bronze, then go back to B's place and break in another one of those bedrooms." She raised her voice. "Yo, Mrs. S, you need me this weekend?"

"Honestly, Faith," Joyce admonished as she came from the kitchen, "is the yelling really necessary? No, I don't need you this weekend. You will have your cellphone, won't you?"

"Yep." Faith answered. She didn't move away from Callista, but she did stop gyrating against the woman so provocatively. She really did like Mrs. Summers, and wasn't about to start disrespecting her now. "C'mon babe, let's go find us some fun."

Buffy watched in amusement as the Slayer grabbed Callista's hand and pulled the older woman behind her as she made for the door. The other girls looked to her first, then followed when she nodded her permission. She turned to the collected group of mothers. "Thanks for dinner, Mom."

"Are you going with them to the Bronze?" Joyce asked. She knew through Willow that Buffy hadn't been really social outside of her and the Scoobies. She hoped that this was a sign that her daughter was getting back to some semblance of normality.

"I might stay for a little bit, but I don't do crowds very well anymore." Buffy shrugged. "What about you guys? Gonna hang around here, or head back to the mansion?"

"I think we will stay and talk for a little while." Mala decided. "I think I would like to get to know the person that you used to be."

Buffy's brow rose in amusement. "Well, you guys have fun, then." She turned away and headed for the door before muttering, "I hope she doesn't bring out the baby pictures. That would just be embarrassing."

She ignored Lillith's laughter in her head.

~~~ BtVS ~~ AU ~~ BtVS ~~~

"Hello, Alan." A stern, yet oddly jovial voice said as a tow-headed man came down the steps of a private plane to greet the small man waiting next to a limousine. "Would you be so kind as to tell me why I am not enjoying my world tour? I am not scheduled to come back to Sunnydale for another couple of months."

"I'm sorry to cut your holiday short, sir," the other man said quietly. "but there is a situation that needs your attention."

"What type of situation?"

"Heinrich Nest has been vanquished."

Mayor Richard Wilkins III looked at his deputy with surprise. "Really? That is a surprise. I didn't think anyone could get to him, or I would have sent in my own people before now."

"The prophecy was fulfilled." Alan Finch explained as he handed his boss a manila folder labeled Buffy Anne Summers. "He killed the Slayer as was written and used her blood to escape his prison, but she somehow came back to life and managed to stake him over top of the Hellmouth."

"Interesting." Mayor Wilkins said thoughtfully as he read the gathered material. "And this Slayer?"

"Continued with her business." Finch reported. "All of this happened last year, but I was unable to get in touch with you. During this past year, Angelus was somehow released and wreaked havoc on the Slayer's life. During that time, a second Slayer arrived, but she was killed by Angelus's insane Childe, Drusilla the Mad. A few months ago, both Angelus and the Slayer disappeared after our 'unofficial' channels informed us of rumors that Acathla's statue had been delivered to Sunnydale, but Principal Snyder at the High School recently called our offices to inform us that the original Slayer has returned, but has not re-enrolled in school."

"Original Slayer?" Wilkins looked at him questioningly.

Finch nodded. "While the Summers girl, the original Slayer, was gone, the replacement of the second Slayer arrived." He handed Wilkins a second folder. This one was very thin, and labeled, Faith, Last Name unknown. "We don't know much about her as of yet. She has been living within the Summers house."

"All right, so what is the situation that you couldn't handle?" Wilkins asked. "Two Slayers? Hardly a problem."

"Umm, no sir." Finch shifted uncomfortably. "There seems to be a new power arising in Sunnydale. None of our usual informants are willing to divulge information regarding this new player. They are apparently all terrified of the consequences. We did find out that this new player has 'laid claim' to the town, and did it in a very expressive fashion. Apparently, one of the older vampires that had been in town was captured, drained completely, then had his tongue ripped out of his mouth before being left on the doorsteps of Willy's bar."

"I am impressed." Wilkins said approvingly. "However, we need more information. I don't care who, or what, you have to torture and/or kill. Find out everything you can about this 'new player'. We need to know if it is an ally or an opponent."

Then he sat back to continue reading as the limousine made its way through LA towards Sunnydale.

~~~ BtVS ~~ AU ~~ BtVS ~~~

Buffy sipped on her water as she watched the girls dance from her vantage point upstairs against the wall, at the table where she had first met Sera. Faith danced as wildly as she fought and Callista, despite being quite a bit older, she matched the young Slayer move for move as if she had been cut from the same cloth. Sera, Willow and Tara danced together for the most part, although occasionally allowing other dancers into their little cluster.

When the music changed to a slower, pulse pounding beat, Faith and Callista abandoned the dance floor and Willow and Tara went to find something to drink. Sera, on the other hand, looked up to where her Mistress was sitting, with a question in her eyes.

She gave her Pet a small smile as she stood smoothly and made her way downstairs. The people parted before her like the Red Sea, most of them unaware that they were doing so as she glided through them with a predatory grace that made their most primitive instincts shy away. Sera had made her way to the edge of the dance floor closest to the stairs, and Buffy slid around to press up against her back and they began to move sensually against each other to the pulse pounding music.

"Holy shit!" Faith exclaimed with wide eyes. "Check out B."

"Wow." Willow gaped. "I've never seen Buffy dance like that!"

Willow and Tara had decided to join them at a table instead of returning to the dance floor after their drinks. Now, everyone looked to where she was staring, to see Buffy and Sera moving together to the music in ways really meant to stay in the bedroom. The other dancers had unconsciously made a circle around them, even though they were still focused on their own partners and (mostly) not paying the two women any attention. Pressed flush against Sera's back, Buffy had one hand planted firmly on the young demon's abdomen and the other curled around her hip, guiding her in the sensuous rhythm. From where she sat, Faith could see the faint shadow of spots beginning to appear on the girl's arms.

The way they were moving, it was bound to happen sooner or later. One of the guys, probably from the college, tried to join them. Sera shook her head, and turned to dance face-to-face with her mistress. When he tried press up against Sera anyway, Buffy pushed him away.

"Well, shit." Faith muttered as she began pushing her way through the crowd. Obviously a little drunk, the young man scrambled back to his feet, flushed with embarrassment as his friends laughed at him, and reached out to grab the girls that had shot him down and humiliated him. Before he touched either of them, however, his wrist was grabbed by a small hand, in such a painful grip that he nearly went down to his knees. He grabbed his forearm, beneath her hand, as he tried, unsuccessfully, to pull away.

"You dare?" The amber color, that he had figured were contacts, now filled her eyes, and he could see the pointed teeth as she sneered at him. Suddenly, the pressure around his wrist increased, and he cried out and fell to his knees, agony searing up his arm, as the bones in his wrist fractured and cracked.

"Hey, c'mon, B, he didn't mean nothin' by it." Faith said, cautiously placing a hand on Buffy's stiff shoulder. "Just had a little too much to drink, that's all." She lowered her voice, knowing that Buffy would still be able to hear her. "Taking him down a peg or two won't get us in much trouble, but if you kill him, we'll all get locked up, including the girls."

It was only the possible threat to those under her protection that saved the young man's life. Growling, she leaned in until she was nose to nose with him, smirking as his grimace of pain and the scent of his terror. When she spoke, Lillith leaked into her voice. **"Come near me and mine again, and I will kill you."** She hissed. **"Slowly."**

Faith winced as Buffy shoved the guy away, making him slide off the dance floor and crash head-first into the thick, metal leg of one of the tables, knocking him unconscious.

"Is there a problem here?" A deep voice asked from behind her.

"No problem, bro." Faith assured the bouncer. "Jackass over there didn't want to take 'no' for an answer, and she was just protecting her girl. Though I think he might wanna have a doc take a look at that wrist. Looked like he landed on it wrong when she shoved him."

The bouncer looked at the girl who seemed to be ignoring his presence. She was a little on the short side, blonde with blood red tips. Not really the type that Faith usually hung around with, but there was something about her that made the non-existent hairs all over his bald head stand up and quiver. He watched as she took her girlfriend's hand and led through the crowd towards the rear exit, before telling the other guys to pick up their friend and head out. "You be careful of that one, Faith. She looks a little too dangerous even for you."

**A/N**: This is a new bouncer that never met Buffy when she was the Slayer.


	24. Chapter TwentyThree

Chapter Twenty-Three

Buffy pulled Sera behind her as she fought down her first instinct to kill the insolent whelp that dared try to take what was hers. People in her path practically threw themselves out of her way. The part of her that was still human was slightly aghast at both her thoughts and her actions, but it was quickly overshadowed by both her rage and Lillith's. The rear exit door swung open without her even reaching out, and she pulled her Pet outside into the back alley, pulled the demon close enough to wrap her arm around her waist and, without warning, shifted completely and took them both up to the roof.

She had barely landed before she was shifting back and ripping Sera's clothes off. She kissed her Pet with a brutal possessiveness, until she tasted blood. Pulling back, she forced her claws back into human hands, she sucked on Sera's bleeding bottom lip as she thrust her fingers deep and hard, scraping the sensitive inner walls with blunt nails until Sera climaxed with a choked gasp.

Buffy didn't stop there, though. Lifting the young demon off her feet, she wrapped the girl's legs around her waist, bracing her against the wall so that she could use both hands.

**"Who do you belong to, Pet?"** Buffy/Lillith purred dangerously as she roughly twisted her lover's nipple and thrust her fingers in and out in a fast, almost brutal pace.

"You, Mistress!" Sera shrieked, her body exploded in another hard orgasm.

**"That's right."** They growled. **"You are mine. No one touches you without permission."**

Buffy/Lillith didn't let up on the demon until their fury cooled enough for Buffy to realize that Sera was begging for respite.

"Mistress, please." Sera whimpered, shuddering weakly through yet another climax.

Buffy blinked at the girl wrapped around her waist, the haze finally clearing from her mind. She shook her head dazedly, trying to force the still pissed Lillith back into the background. "Oh, shit, Sera, are you okay?" She pulled her Pet close as she shakily nodded her head and shuddered again. "We didn't hurt you, did we?"

"N-no, Mistress." The young demon answered, yawning, sleepy now that she had finally come down from her orgasmic high. "I am just tired."

Buffy kissed her softly. "Let's get you home and in bed then." She shifted her stance until Sera was no longer pressed against the wall. She took a step back, and settled the young demon's weight in her arms and, a moment later, they were back in their bedroom. She gently laid Sera on the bed, removed the rest of the shredded clothes and tucked her beneath the covers. She kissed the spots on her shoulder. "Sleep well."

**'Insolent scum.'** Lillith fumed. **'Why did we not destroy the whelp for his insult?'**

_'Guys are like that.'_ Buffy told her as she moved to stand out on the balcony. _'Especially when they've been drinking. The bouncer probably would have noticed in a moment if we hadn't jumped the gun and snapped his wrist. Besides, Faith's right. We don't want any of us to end up in jail if we can avoid it.'_

**'You humans make too many concessions for such foolishness. He should have been stripped of his flesh and made to live for an eternity, screaming his agony.'**

Buffy tilted her head as she considered that. _'Harsh.'_ She finally commented. _'That would be a kinda high price to pay for a moment of bad judgment. For all we know, he'd probably a decent guy when he's sober.'_ She smiled at Lillith's continued discontent. _'Let it go, Lil. It's unimportant. Besides, he's been warned, and I think that we scared enough of the alcoholic haze away for him to fully process the threat. If he tries something else, we can go with your solution.'_

Less than a half an hour later, she felt the others pass through the first of the wards. She poured herself a glass of water, then retreated back to her balcony. She sipped at the water, savoring it like it was a rare vintage wine. Water had been rare in the dimension that she had been trapped in, but fortunately, by the time the lack of water would have been fatal, her body had changed enough under Lillith's ever-growing influence to not need it anymore. When she'd tasted it again, whatever 'human' parts that were left in her body immediately began to crave it.

"Buffy?" Willow called out as she entered the house.

Buffy didn't answer, knowing that she'd find her soon as she heard footsteps rushing up the stairs. A moment later, the redhead burst into the room and onto the balcony. "Are you okay? Is Sera?"

"We're both fine, Will." Buffy smiled up at her. "I wore her out though. Where are Faith and Calli?" Before she could answer, Buffy leaned forward so that she could see into her bedroom. "You can come in, Tara."

With a light blush and a crooked smile, Tara entered the room and joined them on the balcony, glancing at Sera as she passed the bed. Her friend was deeply asleep, with a sated smile on her face and her spots still clearly visible on her bare shoulders. "We dropped Faith and Callista off at your mother's house. Callista's car is still there, and so are our parents."

Willow squeaked in surprise when Buffy suddenly reached up and pulled her down into her lap. She waved Tara into the other chair and the three of them sat out there, looking at the stars in silence.

"Um, Buffy, can I ask you a question?" Tara suddenly broke the peaceful silence.

"Of course." Buffy glanced over at her. She had absentmindedly pulled up Willow's shirt and rested her hand on warm skin while they had been lying there, but now her fingers started stroking the soft, smooth skin of Willow's belly as she focused her attention on the other woman.

"Where are we all going to stay?" Tara asked. She waved her hand about widely. "I mean, I don't think this place is big enough for the entire clan to live here."

Buffy blinked. She hadn't thought of that. She and Lillith hadn't really gotten past wanting those that could be trusted around her. "That's a good question, actually." She mused. She thought for a moment. "There are some houses on this street. I think Angelus killed majority of his closest neighbors, so those houses are empty. Maybe we can have Calli speak to the real estate agent about buying the properties. We can also build if we need to. Either way, we're going to have to restructure the wards after we figure it out. No residence can be left unprotected."

Tara was listening to her planning, until Willow began to shift in her lap and bite her bottom lip in an attempt to remain quiet and not break Buffy's concentration. The movement drew Tara's gaze down to the slender fingers moving in slow circles against the flushed skin of a surprisingly well-toned abdomen. She didn't even notice when Buffy stopped speaking as a low throbbing started between her legs.

Buffy trailed off as she caught the scent of fresh arousal. It wasn't Willow, and Sera was asleep. Her eyes immediately went to the young woman sitting across from her, only to see that her eyes were glued to Willow's stomach. Buffy's eyes narrowed and her lips curled into a wicked smile as she subtly shifted her fingers, digging in a little more, moving a little lower, and causing Willow to whimper and blush at the knowledge that the girl she was attracted to was watching her getting fondled by her best friend, whom she called Mistress. A sexy little whimper, full of hunger and embarrassment, and it almost had Buffy giving Tara a _real_ show.

"Do you like to watch, Tara?" Buffy said silkily, maneuvering Willow into a better position on her lap.

Wide grey eyes flew up to meet hers, before helplessly falling back to her hands when Willow suddenly arched with a low moan. Buffy had completely opened Willow's shirt and was now pinching her hard nipples with one hand and unfastening her jeans with the other. Tara couldn't answer. She could barely breathe. She heard Buffy tell Willow to stay still and stay quiet, but it sounded far away. She had _never_ reacted so strongly to watching something like this in her entire life. She whimpered in Willow's place as Buffy's hand disappeared into the redhead's pants. It took all of her control not to go over there and rip the offending garment off the redhead who was visibly struggling to remain still.

"She's such a sweet thing." Buffy crooned. "Do you think I should let her come? Or should I play with her some more?"

"Oh, Goddess." Tara moaned, panting. Her whole body was hot, and her fingers were twitching. She'd been intensely attracted to Willow from the moment they'd met, and now to see her like this! It was all she could do just to stay in her seat. Something about the two of them tugged on something deep inside of her, making her want to close the distance between them and fuck them both into the middle of next month.

"Answer me, Tara." Buffy's darkly seductive voice wrapped around her. "I'll keep her like this until you do. No matter how long it takes."

Willow couldn't stop the despairing moan that came after that declaration, and Buffy twisted her nipple in punishment and Tara shuddered at the change in Buffy's voice when she spoke in the redhead's ear, **"Bad girl."**

Tara nearly passed out. They were so beautiful together. Willow with her innocent, open face twisted in pleasure and Buffy with her amber eyes and wickedly sensual expression as she played the redhead's body like a delicate instrument. She didn't know what she wanted to happen until the words simply fell out of her mouth. "Goddess, please, do it."

Buffy's voice was sly and sinful when she looked back at her. **"Do what, Tara? Let her come?"**

"Yes..." Tara hissed, her eyes narrowed in lust. "Let me see it."

Then Buffy did something with the hand hidden in Willow's jean and Willow began shaking so hard that Tara trembled in sympathy, but she didn't move, she didn't make a sound and she didn't come. She was obviously trying to make up for her previous infraction.

**"Hmm, you smell delicious, Willow. I can almost taste you in the air. Do you want to come while Tara watches?"** Buffy asked, nibbling at the sensitive skin beneath her ear, piling sensation on top of sensation. **"Are you ready to scream my name for her?"**

Willow nodded desperately. She needed that release at that moment more than she needed to breathe, and she didn't care if the entire high school and all her teachers had been watching. She clenched her teeth as Buffy pressed on something high inside of her that had ecstasy lancing sharply through her once again, not daring to bite her lip in fear that she'd bite right through it. Then Buffy gave her the command, and she was screaming her name so loud that she was sure that her parents heard her from wherever they were in Europe. Then everything went dark.


	25. Chapter TwentyFour

Chapter Twenty-Four

Buffy's eyes were practically glowing as she licked the fluid of Willow's climax off her fingers, watching Tara closely, "Hmm, was it good for you too?"

Tara blushed brightly, realizing that Buffy knew that she'd orgasmed in sympathy with the now unconscious redhead. She laid her head back against the chair as her body continued to pulse, her arousal not even slightly abated. A sound opened her eyes, and she watched in silence as Buffy carried Willow inside and slid her into the bed next to Sera, who immediately curled around her bed-mate.

Buffy turned back to the balcony and extended her hand. "Let's join the others, shall we? I believe that you brought up some concerns that need to be addressed."

Still trembling slightly, Tara took Buffy's hand and followed her through the house. She had no idea when the others had returned, but as they approached the stairs, she could feel the distinct sense of her mother's presence.

The four women looked up as Buffy and Tara entered the room. Faith grinned at the look in Tara's eyes. Diana frowned faintly, but didn't remark. She had spoken at length with Callista during the day, and one thing that the Na'Gash had assured her, was that Buffy wouldn't do anything to Tara that her daughter didn't want, regardless of what the demon inside her might want.

"Calli, Tara brought up an interesting concern." Buffy said. "We need to make sure that we have enough room to accommodate the entire clan when they arrive tomorrow."

"I've already spoken with the real estate agency about buying up the nearby properties since they are still empty. It seems that prospective buyers have shied away from the houses once they were told that all of the the previous occupants had been brutally murdered in the space of a few months."

"Why would they tell that?" Buffy asked, confused.

"They have to give full disclosure if the prospective buyer asks." Callista explained. "It's the law."

"Bet they weren't expecting to be told that everybody was slaughtered like pigs." Faith commented. "Those are some nice places. Considered squattin' in one when I first hit town, but didn't want somebody gettin' freaked and calling the cops on my ass."

"Buy the properties." Buffy decided. "Once everyone gets here and gets settled, we'll decide if we want to keep the houses, or tear it all down and build a more secure compound." With that temporarily settled, she turned to Diana. "What is your prognosis on Will? Can you help her, or do you need to make other arrangements?"

"Her inner wellspring of power is very deep and almost completely untouched. With or without training, she could easily become the most powerful witch of this age."

"What are the dangers?" Buffy asked.

"As you mentioned before, because she grew up practically on top of a Hellmouth, her power is rooted more in the Dark than in the Light, like mine and my daughter's. Because she has barely begun to scrape the surface of her capabilities, she is still in no danger of her power overtaking her, but she must begin to learn the correct teaching and control immediately, now that she has accessed it."

"I would rather have you do it, if possible."

Diana was quiet for a moment. She liked Willow. The girl was enthusiastic to learn about her growing abilities. She was eager, and the elder witch knew that she would soak up her teachings like a sponge in water. Almost grudgingly, she admitted that she liked Buffy Summers as well. Demon or not, the former Slayer truly cared for those that she considered 'hers' and those that she had taken under her protection.

"I will teach her meditation and control, and as much as I am able without compromising either my own inner balance or hers." Diana finally answered. "However, I believe that Willow will benefit from either another Dark practitioner, or even yourself. I would also like to speak with this Mr. Giles, who would foolishly allow her to attempt to self-train despite knowing the pitfalls of such idiocy."

Buffy grinned at her outraged tone. "That can be arranged. Scooby meetings are held at my mother's house during the weekends." She exchanged a telling glance with Mala. "There, you will all be introduced to Giles, Xander and Cordy. I also think it is time to tell the truth about me to Faith, Giles and my mother. What's wrong, Calli?"

"Are you sure that telling the Watcher would be wise?" She asked. "I do not think letting the Council know that a Slayer has merged with a demon is wise. What if they try to have you eliminated? They could even try to order Faith to do it."

"Giles, I think, will be okay. From what Willow's told me, he's already guessed that the demon I merged with is an extremely powerful one. It just hasn't occurred to him that it could be an Old One since, as far as anyone knew, the Old Ones had already been banished by the time the First Slayer was made. If he hasn't told the Council yet, then I doubt he will because of this one little fact, but if he does, we've got a few tricks up our sleeves that they won't be expecting.

"The rest of the clan will be here sometime tomorrow, so Calli, I want you to call the real estate offices first thing in the morning. Pay whatever you think is necessary, but I want those houses. Mala, I want to get everything settled here before I contact the other Matriarchs. You, however, can let them know that I definitely will be contacting them myself in the near future. For now, let them know that they should stay where they are if they are safe. The ones being enslaved have my permission to kill their 'masters' and make their way to one of the other clans. Anyone in real trouble should let you know, and I will take care of it personally."

"Yes, Mistress." They answered in unison.

"Diana, Willow will be ready to begin her training whenever you are. Her school schedule is really the only thing that can't be changed. Everything else can be worked around, but I figure she'll want to at least be kept in the loop in regards to Scooby meetings, which are usually held in the library right after school."

"I believe that we can work around that." Diana told her.

"Excellent." Buffy grinned as she dropped into a chair. "Well, ladies. Tomorrow's Saturday. I expect that we'll have everything settled by Monday, but we gotta have some fun during the weekend. We need to find some place to have some real fun. The Bronze has too many teenagers in it."

"There is a place on the west side of town." Callista told her. "It's called the Seraglio. I have been there a few times. As Faith would say, there is all kinds of fun to be had there."

"Hmm, really?" Buffy purred. "We'll have to check it out." She reached out and pulled Mala into her lap. Her fingertips moved up smooth thighs and teased along darkening spots. "So, Mala, tell me more about these toys that you make. Did you bring any with you?"


End file.
